Category Archives: Diet And Food

Sam Darnold is entering a crucial third year in his career, and that meant making some changes.

First of all, it sounds like he had a diet that is not conducive to being a finely tuned professional athlete.

It turns out Darnold really enjoys his In-N-Out Burger. Darnold was born and raised in California, where the popular West Coast-based burger chain is most prominent.

Darnold gave it up, and it sounds like thatll take a big chunk out of In-N-Outs profit margin.

Darnold was probably just using a figure out speech when he mentioned how often he ate at In-N-Out. Still, its an impressive commitment.

Im making sure Im not eating whatever I want to eat. Im not having In-N-Out every single day and making sure Im eating good food, Darnold said, according to the New York Post. Putting the right things in my body, thats a huge part of it. Im working out four or five days a week. I dont have to worry about how much work I put in. Its really about what Im putting in my body.

Every single day, Sam? Its hard to blame him for being hooked on the burgers. Darnold told reporters his order, which is Number 1, grilled onions, Neapolitan shake. Easy. (For the uninitiated, the No. 1 is a double-double, which is two patties and two slices of cheese.)

But yeah, thats a lot of burgers, shakes and fries for an athlete.

Darnold talked about his workouts, too, keeping his lower body strong and his upper body flexible. Part of the changes in the offseason routine are just maturing Darnold turned 23 years old in June but there might be some urgency involved too.

Darnolds rookie year was up and down after the Jets made him the third pick of the 2018 draft, but there were clear positives. His second season is tough to gauge because he dealt with mononucleosis early in the season and that caused him to miss games. He did finish fairly well.

Still, its not like theres a lot of league-wide confidence that Darnold will be a star. Opinions change fast in the NFL, even for a 23-year-old who was once considered an elite prospect. So this is a big year for Darnold. Maybe if he plays well enough he can have some offseason In-N-Out to celebrate.

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Jets QB Sam Darnold ate better this offseason, which meant 'not having In-N-Out every single day' - Yahoo Sports

If you want to shed fat faster, the trick is to keep your blood sugar low and turn up the engines by working out.The latesttrend is to "eat like a diabetic" for overall best body fueling, so your system runs on the calories you eat (and working-out puts you at a deficit) so you never have a chance to store extra calories as fat. Nowadays "the diabetic diet" is getting a lot of attention because even for non-diabetics,it's the best wayto eat to reduce or avoid diabetes, which is more critical than ever since diabetes is a known risk factor for serious COVID-19 symptoms. To stay well, slim down and shed unwanted fat layers right now, eating high fiber, plant-based foods that have the lowest glycemic indexis being touted as the best strategy. The added benefit: Along with losing weight these all have anti-viral, immunity-boostingbenefits.

Even if you are not diabetic, and you just want to lower blood sugar and turn up the burners to help your body burn fat, there are foods that can help your body use available energy and not store calories as fat -- naturally. If you choose the right foods, get active, and keep your calories in check, you'll be able to lower your blood sugar levels and help your body's natural ability to metabolize the carbs you eat, to use blood sugar as fuel, and not allow insulin to signal "too much sugar here.... put this extra stuff into storage!" The key to doing this is to eat the foods that best keep blood sugar levels steady, or better yet, nice and low, and not let your insulin levels surge, since it's that signal that starts your body crating off calories to fat.

These foods are known to damp down blood sugar and turn off the insulin sirens, to help you burn fat naturally. We found this list in TimesNowNews.comand added two of our favorites to bring you the 7 best plant-based foods to lower blood sugar and burn fat naturally.

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The Best 7 Foods to Lower Blood Sugar Naturally and Help Burn Fat - The Beet

Alister Davies first steps into sheep farming were much the same as those of any other producer trying to get on to the farming ladder.

He and his wife Eirian acquired a small parcel of land, rented more whenever they could and bought-in a small flock of breeding ewes.

Appropriately choosing Lleyns for their Machynlleth location in mid-Wales, they found the breed to be prolific and easy to manage.

They set-stocked in the traditional manner, lambed in mid-February and had usually sold most finished lambs by the end of summer, with a few stragglers remaining until autumn.

And then came an enlightenment which changed the whole system.

He says: I went to Ireland in 2014 where we saw farmers grazing ewes and lambs behind electric fencing in paddock systems.

It was something I had only seen practised on dairy farms before, but it was obvious the amount of grass they were utilising was massively more than we were achieving at home.

Every day the grass was at the right stage of growth, the three-leaf stage.

It was never tall and stalky and the regrowth was far quicker. Determined to implement the same practices at home, Mr Davies immediately started improving his grassland in preparation for setting up paddocks, which would be grazed by the flock on a rotational basis for one to two days at a time.

We limed the fields where it was needed, corrected the phosphate and potash and reseeded with Trojen, a fast-growing mixture of highly digestible grasses and clover from the ForFarmers Topgrass range.

Find out more, visit the ForFarmers Homepage

Describing the difference in grass growth as massive and the rates of recovery as so much quicker, he was able to increase annual stocking rates from the previous five ewes per hectare (two ewes/acre), to 15 ewes/ha (six ewes/acre).

Buoyed by the improvements in grassland management, Mr Davies began to pay closer attention to his ewes and lambs nutrition throughout the year, and as an account manager with ForFarmers himself, was well placed to know the companys advice.

Keenly focused on using the live yeast Levucell SC in his ewe and lamb rations, he explains his thinking.

He says: Levucell SC is the only rumen-specific live yeast on the market, which is why ForFarmers has run with it as a company for more than 20 years.

It was originally licensed for cattle, but as soon as it was available for sheep, we started to use it in our top-of-the-range feeds. Highly effective in improving rumen health and function, Levucell SC achieves this through numerous mechanisms.

This includes scavenging oxygen and therefore promoting the anaerobic conditions required by other desirable rumen microflora and mopping up lactic acid.

Stabilising rumen pH in the process, it also increases the rumens microbial biomass, its synthesis of protein and vitamins, and increases fibre digestion.

All of this is exactly what we want for our ewes, so we are feeding Ewbol Gold rolls and Levucell in late pregnancy, he says, explaining how it has almost eliminated prolapses in the flock.

Any farmer who is honest will tell you their flock has prolapses and it is not uncommon in prolific flocks for these to reach a level of about 10 per cent.

For ewes carrying more than one lamb, there is limited space in the rumen and, because most pregnant ewes are fed a high fibre diet, anything you can do to speed up fibre digestion relieves the pressure inside the ewe.

In our flock we have found it has taken the risk away and, out of our 70 ewes, this year we had just one prolapse.

At the same time we have had a higher lambing percentage, scanning at 200 per cent, due to better nutrition at tupping and genetic selection of our best stock. Continuing with the Ewbol in early lactation, he says this is cut out within two to six weeks depending on the availability of grass.

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Grazing and nutrition transforms flock performance - ForFarmers - FG Insight

A Saint John advocacy group is proposing $2.5 million in upgrades to improve active transportation.

Saint John Cycling has identified several projects it says will make the city more bikeable and walkable.

Nick Cameron, the groups government liaison, said the idea started after a federal funding announcement in May.

Cameron said the government unveiled a new funding stream for infrastructure projects which allow communities to adapt to COVID-19.

One thing that we found during the peak of the lockdown was that there were few opportunities for people to live a healthy and active lifestyle and one of the few things we had left was walking and cycling and getting outside, said Cameron.

The infrastructure cant quite accommodate that increase in use let alone even regular use outside the pandemic, so thats when we decided to look at some of the opportunities that had been talked about over the years, identify what we feel is shovel-ready for this program.

The group identified eight spots in the city which could be improved to encourage more people to get outside while still safely physical distancing.

They include Ocean Westway, Manawagonish Road, Chesley Drive, Main Street, Station Street & City Road, University Avenue, Heather Way, and the Spruce Lake Trail.

Cameron said five of the eight projects would involve what is known as road diets. A typical road diet reduces a four-lane road to three lanes: two for directional traffic and one shared left turn lane.

It looks at roads like Main Street and Chesley Drive Chesley Drive is four lanes, Main Street is six lanes and it would reallocate some of that space for active transportation for people moving by their own power trying to live a healthy lifestyle, he said.

A map of the active transportation projects being proposed by Saint John Cycling. (Photo submitted)

Many people think road diets only benefit cyclists and pedestrians, but Cameron said that is not the case. He noted there are many benefits for drivers, such as improved traffic flow and reduced collisions.

There are also maintenance savings for municipalities as the road lane no longer has to be maintained at the same level. Cameron estimates the city would save about $60,000 a year.

We know that a lot of these streets and trails have community buy-in, theyve been talked about for over a decade in some cases, and theyre already on either the municipal plan or the trails and bikeways strategy or other documents as a priority for council, he said.

The proposal also includes 22 kilometres of the Coastal Link Trail, an ongoing project to connect The Great Trail in Saint John to the East Coast Greenway in the United States.

In addition to local benefits, Cameron said the upgrades could allow Greater Saint John and New Brunswick to tap into the growing cycling tourism market surrounding us.

We know that its a $500-million industry in the province of Ontario, a $1.2-billion industry in Quebec and a $66-million industry in the state of Maine, he said.

The group already has a $150,000 commitment from Coastal Link Trail. They are seeking $2 million in federal funding through the infrastructure program and $175,000 from the province and the city.

Group members are expected to present to Saint John council on Monday.

Link:
Cycling Group Proposes Active Transportation Upgrades - country94.ca

Sadly too many business owners today fail to see the connection and more importantly the benefit between physical and mental fitness. However, accepting that a healthy body will lead to a healthy mind is as important to business success as is paying attention to the numbers and hiring the right employees.

Staying fit is not an easy task for todays business owner given their busy schedule, poor eating habits, high stress, sedentary life style and lack of exercise.

Understanding these things is not the issue but doing something about them is. Smart business owners understand that business success is greatly enhanced by being physically fit and mentally alert. Many also understand that the two work very well together. However, the smart ones follow a regimen for their physical/mental health just as they follow a plan for their business.

What follows are four habits that business owners can use to stay physically fit thus enhancing their mental alertness:

Develop and follow an exercise program

All business owners understand the time crunch that comes with leading and growing a business. Setting aside time for regularly scheduled workouts can be difficult, and blocking out two hours at a fitness center is next to impossible. So the answer can be interval training workouts where you have a short but high intensity exercise regimen like running, walking, biking, weights, swimming or any combination of these for 40 to 60 minutes 3 to 4 times per week.

Remember that the best exercise you can do is what you will do.

Get the proper amount of sleep

In order to make the best business decisions, it is important for business owners to be well rested. Getting a good nights sleep is vital to your emotional state and to your thinking process thus enhancing your creativity, confidence, leadership and decision making.

Have a healthy diet

Here, it is important to remember that you cannot exercise off a bad diet. Eating right is not about dieting, but instead, it about staying away from the wrong foods. The right foods include proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, eggs, natural fats and healthy oils. There are a lot of recommended diets from which to choose for a healthy lifestyle.

It is equally important to stay hydrated with water. Getting your nutrition intake right is very important to your overall health and physical appearance. The old saying is true "we are what we eat."

Recharge your brain through meditation

The rest your brain will experience during meditation, or creative daydreaming, can give you a spike in your energy level. This actually can lead to a decrease in your anxiety, fear and stress levels. This can be particularly helpful during those times when you have to make a critically important business decision.

Everyone will agree that the healthier we are the better we feel about ourselves, our job and our company and the better we feel the more effective we can be.

It isnt enough for business owners to want to be healthy just to achieve business success. Business owners should want to be physically and mentally healthy so they can better enjoy the fruits of their labor and life in general.

Dan Short is a Certified SCORE Business Mentor. SCORE is the nations largest provider of free business mentoring services to small businesses and start-ups. Savannah SCORE was named the 2019 "Mid-Market Chapter of the Year". To schedule a free business mentoring/coaching session with an expert Savannah SCORE business mentor, go to savannah.score.org and click on "Find A Mentor" or call 912-652-4335.

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Ask SCORE column: The link between fitness and success - Savannah Morning News

In August, we are normally preparing our children for school. But because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many adults may also be getting ready for a return to work in person for the first time since March. Be it in a school building, office complex or other place of employment, theres a lot to think about to ensure that the first day back gets off to a good start.

With countless changes and new safety protocols, we have come up with several rules of thumb to consider:

Dont go back if you pose a risk.

This is an easy one. If you or your children have COVID-19 symptoms, or have come into contact with someone who has symptoms, continue to isolate or quarantine pending the results of a test. We all have a responsibility to our community to stay put if we pose a risk to others.

Waiting for the right time to return to regular activities is crucial. Follow Massachusetts guidelines and be sure to self-quarantine for 14 days after exposure and self-isolate for at least seven days if you tested positive and have mild symptoms that are improving.

Be prepared to not go back.

Mentally and physically we need to be prepared to not return to our offices or for our children to not go back to the schoolhouse. It will be important to stay informed and make note of your communitys policies and guidelines coming from the Commonwealth.

Stock up on supplies.

As folks return to work and school, there will be plenty of bathroom tissue on supermarket shelves, but youll need to invest in hand sanitizer, sanitary wipes and face masks. While your employer and schools should have plenty, its best to be safe and stock up on medical-grade hand sanitizer that is at least 65 percent alcohol and wash your hands with soap and water frequently. It will also be wise to have enough masks for the school and workweek so you have a fresh, clean mask each day.

You should also consider other available supplies that can help support your immune system. For example, there are many versatile supplements like zinc, elderberry and vitamin C that each support immune health and can help your body fight the coronavirus.

Be mindful of stressors.

While we discussed managing your stress during the pandemic in a recent Over the Counter column and its benefits for your health and immune system, it will be important to take note of your familys behavioral health as well. Be mindful of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions signs of anxiety and depression in your children, like fear toward people or places and altered eating patterns, and facilitate an open dialogue with your entire family to gauge how they are feeling as things return to normal. If you or a loved one are feeling depressed, seek guidance from a behavioral health clinician.

Pack a healthy lunch.

Once youre back on the job, dont rush to your favorite lunch counter too quickly for two reasons: to avoid unnecessary contact and to eat healthily. Limiting your trips to busy lunch-hour destinations will help ensure youre not coming into contact with COVID-19. It will also be an opportunity to continue the healthy eating habits that we recommended in an Over the Counter column earlier this summer, including consuming a nutrient-rich diet that can boost your immune system.

The same goes for your children. Schools have done a great job creating balanced and healthy meal options that millions of youths rely on, but packing a lunch box with some extra healthy snacks or lunch alternatives are the best way to make sure your children are getting the nutrients they need.

Dont forget to exercise and sleep well.

Just because youre headed back to work doesnt mean you should curtail your home workout routine. Theres a good reason why children have recess and gym class. Try to continue those push-ups, crunches and virtual yoga sessions at home before or after work, or in the office on your break. Some virtual yoga sessions can be done with a chair in as little time as 15 minutes.

At the very least, continue to get outside every day. Take a 15-minute walk during the workday, or carve out some time before or after work to get out and soak up some of the suns vitamin D.

We likely dont have to remind you of the importance of sleep on your immune system or your childrens development. But if you are having trouble getting to bed earlier since youre waking up earlier to get your kids ready and to commute, consider natural sleep remedies like magnesium, melatonin and lavender oil.

Things will certainly be different, but by practicing common sense and working to ensure the health and safety of you and your family, youll be better prepared to navigate the new normal.

Gary Kracoff has a degree in naturopathic medicine and is a registered pharmacist and John Walczyk is a compounding pharmacist at Johnson Compounding & Wellness in Waltham, Mass. For more information, visit http://www.naturalcompounder.com. Readers with questions about natural or homeopathic medicine, compounded medications, or health in general can email gary@naturalcompounder.com or call 781-893-3870.

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Over the Counter: Getting ready for back to school and work - MetroWest Daily News

Omari McQueens profile is rising quickly. Illustration: Eliana Rodgers

It was more complicated than I thought it would be to schedule a Zoom call with Omari McQueen, a young chef who is quickly gaining fame in the United Kingdom as a leading proponent of all things vegan. Yes, we had to work around an unwieldy time difference Im based in California; McQueen lives in London but it was mostly because his team, which consists of book publicists, an agent, and even his parents, all have to coordinate in order to fit media appearances into his schedule.

Also, McQueen is 12 years old, so between recipe-development sessions and strategy meetings, hes got homework to do and Fortnite to play.

In the end, however, I meet McQueen 20 minutes before Im supposed to. He isnt yet wearing his signature yolk-yellow apron, adorned with the logo of his fledgling snack company, Dipalicious just a long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, a sartorial choice that says lets get down to business. McQueen logged in early to check if the link I circulated actually works, and hes flanked on his right by his mother, Leah. McQueen smiles shyly and waves hello, I apologize for lurking in the Zoom room, and we agree to meet back at the scheduled time because he still has a few ingredients to prep before our conversation officially begins.

The team, which also consists of Omaris father Jermaine, runs an impressively efficient operation: Between running an e-commerce shop, where McQueen sells vegan chip dips like Caribbean Kick (mango, pineapple, and chili), his YouTube channel Omari Goes Wild, appearances on British television, and the rigors of school, McQueen also found time to sell his first cookbook, Omaris Best Bites, which is slated to arrive next year from Scholastic UK.

My book is a childrens book and an adults book, he says as we reconvene on Zoom, before giving me the full sales pitch. If they all start making vegan meals more often, then they might become vegan, he adds with a hopeful lilt. And then theyll be like, You changed my mind.

This is McQueens defining ethos as a chef: convincing people that vegan alternatives are just as delightful as their meaty counterparts. Accordingly, his book will feature a number of the plant-based recipes that earned accolades at a pop-up restaurant he ran in the trendy London food hall Boxpark in 2019, like fries made from breadfruit. It will also showcase dishes hes perfected at home for a dining audience of his five siblings and parents, including vegan patties and a secret dip, about which he says coyly he cant disclose more, at least at this early stage.

Some of his recipes are inspired by the Jamaican dishes he ate growing up Leahs grandparents and Jermaines parents are from Jamaica while others are takes on family favorites, like a smoothie he invented whole cloth for his mom. The cookbook project is one hes had on his vision board, for three years, according to Leah, who leans into the frame on our Zoom call to note that its only the first in a long line of recipe collections he hopes to publish.

McQueen tells me he first became interested in food when he was 7 years old: I learned to cook when my mum was sick and my dad was going to work, he says. Jermaine taught both McQueen and his older brother Laquarn how to make tuna pasta. For the younger sibling, the lessons really stuck.

Shortly thereafter, McQueen was researching foods that he hoped might help relieve his mothers hemiplegic migraines when he came across the word vegan. One thing led to another, and he stumbled upon one of PETAs more graphic videos. Hes been a vegan ever since.

At age 8, McQueen turned his interest into a revenue stream. He began peddling homemade dips to his siblings at precisely 2.44 apiece. (I just thought of 2.44, because when Id go to the shop, Id see so many things priced at 2-something, he explains of his pricing strategy.) Before long, with Jermaines help, hed worked up official packaging, labels, and leaflets so he could participate in a childrens business fair in London, then the Catford Vegan Festival a couple of years later.

I said to my mum, I dont just want this to be my hobby I want it to be my business as well, he tells me. During quarantine, his dip business has been booming, and his fan base continues to grow. A few days before our call, he was deep in a session of Fortnite when the Dipalicious order phone rang and interrupted his game. A 9-year-old superfan was on the other end of the line.

Her homework was to write about an influential Black person in London, Leah says. I was so proud of him. McQueen shifts his weight and looks down at the counter modestly. This little 9-year-old had phoned to find out more about Omari. I was like, Would you like to speak to Omari? and she completely freaked out!

For our call, McQueen has agreed to cook his signature callaloo mix-up. Its a favorite dish he eats it weekly and a recipe hes finalized for Omaris Best Bites. He adds olive oil, plus a few cups of diced onion and bell peppers. Meanwhile, he explains how he salt-washes his greens for about five minutes before draining, for extra flavor.

Once the onions have softened, McQueen tips in his prepped greens with the easy finesse of someone on a televised cooking show, and moves the bowl offscreen one of his biggest pet peeves when his family members cook, he says, is that they dont keep things neat. McQueen spices the greens and cooks them down for a few minutes as they release water, stirring constantly with a little wooden spoon.

We talk about his favorite vegetables (sweet potato sliced into wedges and baked) and next steps. Once his cookbook project has wrapped, McQueens major goal is to open a permanent restaurant called Prince of the Kitchen, by the time hes 16. And in the meantime, he has his sights set on another dream: meeting his culinary hero, Gordon Ramsay. I asked McQueen what hed cook for Ramsay if he had just one chance to turn him vegan. His answer: curried jackfruit, and rum-raisin ice cream for dessert, if he drinks.

Satisfied with the texture of the greens, McQueen adds chopped tomatoes in their juices and some water, and covers the skillet to let the callaloo simmer. Hes going to serve it over rice for dinner. McQueen makes many of the familys meals, Leah says, though McQueen cops to loving his dads yam balls.

Currently, McQueen is also locked in an ongoing lasagna battle with his grandmother, trying to prove that a vegan version of the famously cheese-heavy pasta casserole can be better. (Recently, after tasting his latest attempt, McQueens grandma acquiesced that it was delicious, and took some home for leftovers.)

McQueen lifts the lid from his callaloo and gives it one final stir. Thats looking so good, I say, lamenting that it is being cooked roughly 5,500 miles away. How does it smell over there?

It smells nice, the chef confirms, as I make eye contact with a days-old croissant half on my counter, threatening to crumble into a pile of dust. McQueen transfers the warm callaloo over to a serving plate, as it throws off cheerful steam. Leah nicks an approving bite.

And then its time to go: Its a school night, after all, and he has a math exam the next morning at 10 a.m. Hes hoping to squeeze in a little more studying, and a little more Fortnite before its time to go to bed.

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Can a 12-Year-Old Convince You to Go Vegan? - Grub Street

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Eating disorders have the highest mortality ratesof any kinds of mental illness. They dont discriminate, affecting people of all ethnicities, sexualities, gender identities, ages and backgrounds. However, one group is disproportionately affected by these disorders: people on the autism spectrum.

Eating disorders in autistic people are poorly understood, but they tend to be more severe and long-lastingthan they are in others. The longer a person lives with their eating disorder, the harder it is to recover. This may partly explain why some studies suggest autistic people have a poorer prognosis in therapy.

Longer-lasting eating disorders are associated with a higher death rate. The fact that autistic people are vulnerable to chronic eating disorders, alongside other mental illnesses, may be one reason why they die one to three decades earlier, on average, than non-autistic people.

So why are autistic people especially vulnerable to eating disorders? At least two reasons have been suggested.

One general and major risk factor for developing an eating disorder is dieting. For people who might already be genetically vulnerable to eating disorders, dieting seems to kick-start something in the brain that can develop into the disorder.

While autistic people arent more likely to diet than the average person, certain traits of autismincluding attention to detail, determination and intense fixated interests may make them better able to maintain the restrictions needed for long-term weight loss when they choose to diet.

The cognitive rigidity that we see in autistic people may also make it easy for them to get stuck in patterns of eating behavior, while their preference for sameness may cause them to have a limited diet to begin with. For some autistic people, insensitivity to hunger, gastrointestinal problems and sensitivity to tastes, smells and textures make eating difficultanyway.

Moreover, because autistic people are often bullied and socially isolated, dieting and weight loss may give them back a sense of control, predictability, reward and self-worth. Eating disorders may even numb feelings of anxiety and depression.

A core trait of people with eating disorders is that they find it difficult to identify and cope with emotion. As autistic people struggle with emotions in similar ways, our research team wondered whether this might help explain why they are more likely to have eating disorders.

The personality trait characterized by an inability to identify and describe emotions is called alexithymia. Being alexithymic is like being emotionally color-blind, and it ranges from subtle to severe. While one alexithymic person might find it hard to pinpoint what emotion theyre feeling, another might notice physical signs such as a racing heart and identify that theyre feeling angry or frightened.

Alexithymia is associated with many negative outcomes like suicide and self-injury. In part, this may be because people who cannot identify or express their emotions find it hard to soothe themselves or get support from others.

To see whether alexithymia might contribute to eating disorders in autism, we looked at eating-disorder symptoms and autistic traits in the general population. Autism is a spectrum condition, so everyone has some level of autistic traits but it does not mean that everyone is actually autistic. Nevertheless, these traits can tell us something about the nature of autism itself.

In two experiments with 421 participants, we found that higher levels of autistic traits correlated with higher levels of eating-disorder symptoms. We also found that higher levels of alexithymia wholly or partly explained this relationship. Our results suggest that having higher levels of autistic traits alongside difficulties identifying and describing emotions may make these people more vulnerable to developing eating-disorder symptoms.

Interestingly, we found differences between male and female participants. While alexithymia was related to eating-disorder symptoms in women, there were no links between alexithymia and eating-disorder symptoms in men. Since the male group was small, however, we couldnt be sure these findings would hold up in a bigger sample.

This research cant show conclusively that alexithymia causes eating-disorder symptoms in people with autistic traits, or indeed in autistic people. It might be that the relationships work backwards and eating-disorder symptoms give rise to alexithymia and to autistic traits.

However, first-person accounts from autistic people are consistent with the idea that alexithymia might play a role in their eating disorders. One participant even described how restricting her calorie intake reduced internal sensations that unknown to her, since she was unable to identify themcaused her much anxiety.

If supported by further research, these findings have potential implications for treatment. Clinicians already know that therapies need to be tailored differently for autistic and non-autistic patients, but how best to do so remains uncertain. Preliminary research like this study may offer some clues by highlighting alexithymia as a potential target. Alexithymia is not currently addressed by clinicians either in autistic people or in those with eating disorders.

As there are many negative outcomes associated with being autisticsuch as high suicide rates and a heightened risk of eating disordersit will be important to explore how much alexithymia, not autism itself, contributes to these negative outcomes. Focused interventions to treat alexithymia might potentially reduce these risks.

This story originally appeared on The Conversation. It has been slightly modified to reflect Spectrums style.

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Autism and eating disorders may have an emotional connection - Spectrum

With the rising threat of climate change, people around the world are increasinglyrecognizing the importance of large-scale sustainability. In a recent poll of American and Australian citizens, 93% of respondents expressed concern for the environment and indicated that they are ready to act. Sustainable habits that individuals themselves can undertake include recycling, driving less, avoiding single-use plastics, and adopting a plant-based diet.

But its important to keep in mind that identifying a problem is just the first step of a much larger project: Changing your lifestyle to incorporate sustainable habits can prove to be a bit more challenging. To better ensure success as you work to incorporate more sustainable habits into your daily life, consider digging a little deeper into the science behind habit formation.

It is generally accepted that habits have three distinct components: Trigger, action, and reward. When youre working to form a new habit, its crucial that you focus on how each component relates to your end goal.Our reward centers primarily fuel change, so you must be sure to reward yourself every time you reach a goal or milestone.

The human bodys rewards center essentially runs on dopamine, a powerful neurotransmitter. There are plenty of ways to give yourself a temporary dopamine boost, most of which have negative repercussions. Whats more, the rewards from smoking a cigarette,drinking alcohol, or overindulging in a rich dessert tend to fade quickly.

Conversely, dopamine cultivated via positive habits such as regular exercise and plant-based eating builds up over time. When it comes to sustainable habits, youre building a strong reward-based foundation every time you bring along reusable totes, take the bus to work, or choose themeat-free option at lunchtime.

Forming sustainable habits starts with your triggers or cues. In regards to adopting a healthier, more sustainable diet, identify the cues or triggers that cause you to crave unhealthy foods. Triggers are highly individualized and can come from both internal and external sources.

Where sustainable habits can help improve your overall health, triggers typically have the opposite effect and can negatively affect you both mentally and physically. According to Bradley University, Physical health can associate significantly with a persons mental health. The good news is that adopting sustainable habits, no matter how small, may induce increased feelings of optimism, life satisfaction, and happiness, as you work to change the world for the better.

Major lifestyle changes cant occur in a bubble, nor should you go at it alone. Those pursuing a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle may lean on healthcare professionals or loved ones for support. Sometimes, we need a second voice to give us a much-needed boost on challenging days.

Ultimately, however, successfully building sustainable habits comes down to your motivation and willingness to change. Simply put, if youre not willing to make the (often difficult) changes to better your life and health, as well as the health of the planet, then youre unlikely to succeed in the long-term. Further, you need to be the spearhead of your own change, especially if your ultimate goal is to foster a sustainable mindset over the long term. In fact, progress towards a self-determined behavioral goal supports patients sense of autonomy and sustains interest, U.K. researchers found.

When implementing lasting change, repetition is key: In fact, repeating your actions consistently is key to the promotion of long-term behavioral changes. Start by setting an attainable goal thats challenging but not overwhelming, and start small. If your goal is to adopt a plant-based diet, for example, choose one or two days per week as meat-free days, and be consistent.

Again, make sure not to skip the reward step. Every time you achieve your goal, reinforce the behavior with something positive perhaps treat yourself to a spa day, or reward yourself with a decadent dessert made with locally sourced ingredients.

As you work to cultivate sustainable habits, try not to feel as though youre missing out on something. Positivity is key when youre working to develop a healthier relationship with food, and in turn, with the natural world. If you primarily look at your evolving habits in a negative light, youll likely end up doing more harm than good, and you may even abandon your goals altogether.

So, to make the habit of sustainability stick, stay positive. Rather than viewing a reduction in single-use plastics or processed foods as a sort of deprivation, focus on how your new sustainable habits can make your life better. For starters, think of the numerous ways in which sustainable eating makes a positive impact on both the planet and your local community. And dont be afraid to seek out encouragement from outside parties if you need extra support.

In this way, positive thinking and sustainability can exist in a sort of symbiotic relationship: As you continue to form sustainable habits, youll stimulate your brains dopamine receptors, reinforcing the myriad positives of cultivating sustainability in every aspect of your daily life.

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How to Form Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Habits That Will Stick - The Beet

In mid-July, Burger King announced it would start adding lemongrass to its cows' diets to combat the methane emissions they produce during digestion.

During the complicated bovine digestive process, the grass they eat is broken down, fermented and released. With the millions of cows across the world raised for dairy and meat production, these burps have become a massive problem. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, methane from cow burps is responsible for 39 percent of greenhouse gas production related to the global livestock industry. And according to FoodTank, this accounts for 26 percent of the United States total methane emissions.

Burger King said its lemongrass feed program could reduce methane created by cows by about 33 percent. Scientists dove deeper into the fine print of the unpublished research, discovering that Burger Kings holy-grail lemongrass only reduces cow-produced methane emissions by about 3 percent. Burger King hasnt responded to that criticism. Still, it is promising that the huge casual restaurant company is at least somewhat caving to the pressure from investors and consumers to address this issue, opening the door for other more efficient feed additives.

Methane from cow burps is responsible for 39 percent of greenhouse gas production in the global livestock industry.

Researchers and startup companies have recognized the enormous opportunity associated with addressing the cow methane issue by changing their diet and are working on natural feed additives to reduce methane emissions from cows. Here are five companies racing to offer options for farmers. Each offer natural additives. Synthetic additives are on the market for methane reduction, but they cannot be used by organic farmers.

Blue Ocean Barns is one of two companies on this list working with Asparagopsis taxiformis, a red seaweed. Blue Ocean Barns trials at the University of California, Davis and other peer-reviewed studies on the seaweed have shown just a small sprinkling of the additive to the cows diet can reduce methane emissions from 50 to 90 percent.

"Weve met with over 50 ranchers, dairy producers, processors and food companies," said Joan Salwen, founder of Blue Ocean Barns. "All of them really want to see the carbon footprint from livestock go down and not by 20 or 30 percent, but really dramatically. None of them could have envisioned the 80 percent reductions that were proving."

The seaweed prevents hydrogens from binding to carbon atoms in the gut, which creates methane.Instead, the cow releases carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas.

Blue Ocean Barnshas been growing seaweed for two years, including on an oceanfront parcel in Hawaii with hundreds of acres available for cultivation. It plans to have products available by the end of 2021, focusing on California, where farmers are mandated by law to reduce methane emissions and where it already has connections through UC Davis. It has garnered investments from large dairy producers such as Mars, which awarded Blue Ocean Barns $200,000 to conduct a pilot with the company, and Land O'Lakes.

Symbrosia is also working on red algae. It, too, is only in the research phase and is completing its first trial on a sheep farm in New York. In Hawaii, Symbrosia is working on growing the algae, which can be quite finicky and difficult, and figuring out how to scale production. To get certified by the Food and Drug Administration, it will need enough product to run a full commercial trial. Symbrosia also has access tooceanfront property for growing.

"We're really familiar with the entire value chain and what this means to all the stakeholders," said Alexia Akbay, founder and CEO of Symbrosia. "We can bring the value the whole way through the supply chain. We really understand how to market the product and what we need to do on the technology to make it a marketable opportunity."

Alltechs product, Yea-Sacc, is already commercially available. This product, a yeast culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, doesnt directly reduce methane gas production. Instead, it increases the efficiency of cow milk production. Adding the yeast to the cow's diet creates a healthier gut microbiome, allowing the cow to turn grass into milk easier and quicker.

Alltech claims that Yea-Sacc provides higher sustained milk production per cow, therefore reducing the greenhouse gas emissions per unit of product. However, this approach might just lead to more, highly efficient cows and methane production could remain stable.

Mootral, a Swiss agriculture company, has developed a garlic and citric acid natural feed supplement to reduce methane emissions from cows. The allicin in the garlic and the citrus extract in orange inhibits methane production in the rumen by as much as 23 percent, according to a UC Davis study.

While the seaweed additive might have better reduction rates, according to Mootral CEO Thomas Hafner, it is years away from marketability. Whats more, those startups will have to overcome scaling obstacles in growing the seaweed, he said.

"[Mootral has an advantage] simply because we can tap into an existing supply chain," Hafner said. "We can tap into the existing garlic industry. Have them grow our particular species that gives us a higher yield of active components. But there are 26 million tonnes of garlic being produced every year. If we were to serve 200 million cows, we were using 3 percent of that."

Mootral is exploring partnerships with brands all over the globe, including Brades Farm, which produces climate-conscious milk perfect for baristas.

Agolin has had a methane-reducing product on the market since 2008, however it markets the additive to farmers as a milk production booster. The product is a blend of essential oils from herbs such as cilantro that create a healthier, more productive and less methane-producing gut biome in the cow.

"It's adjusting the profile of the rumen microbiome," said Michael Roe, commercial director of Agolin. "It's suppressing some microbiomes, which allows others to proliferate. We're not interfering directly with chemical processes, I would say more sort of shifting the population profile within the rumen very slightly."

An animal research trial showed an 8.8 percent reduction in methane per day; other studies showed a 15 to 20 percent reduction per kilogram of milk production.

The next step for Agolin, and any methane-reducing additive product, is to get its methane claims verified by the FDA and be able to market the product as methane-reducing. No company has gotten this stamp from a regulator yet.

"For whatever company breaks through, it would pave the way for others," Roe said. "It's also a challenge for the FDA. They've never made an [methane-reducing] approval. How are they deciding to assess these products? The challenge is on both sides. The companies have to have a good enough dossier that can get through, and the FDA has to decide where the bar should be."

Updated 08/12/20 to clarify Blue Ocean Barns' and Symbrosia'sseaweed growing infrastructure.

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5 feed companies that could relieve the cow burp methane problem - GreenBiz