Category Archives: Diet And Food

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With a pandemic outbreak upon us, and all of us safely tucked inside our home, we are counting days when our lives would resume normalcy. More often than not, we are all at some point or the other binge watching our favorite TV series. Nothing comforts us more than a platter of snacks, which completely transforms the experience.

However, at times like these, sometimes we even delve into unhealthy snacking which may add to health-related worries over a course of time. While it is advisable to exercise and spend time following productive pursuits, one cannot deny the importance of a healthy and a balanced diet. Here aresome easy, delicious, healthy and quick recipes that could be yourperfect companion during self-quarantine.

These make for a delicious, refreshing appetizer or a quick bite.

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Cucumber could be a healthy addition to your diet

A different version of fajita vegetables, this snack is all things loaded and lip-smacking.

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Small ragi (nachni) chapattis with a topping of pizza sauce and cheese, make a healthy alternative to regular pizzas. It can also be eaten as a main course by making a big chappati about 7 to 8 inches in diameter, with pizza sauce, cheese and other toppings.

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Ragi is a rich source of protein

Healthy, tasty and vibrant, they can be an amazing appetizer for your family.

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Dhokla is a steamed Gujarati snack

About Author: Renu Dalal, daughter of the late legendary chef and cook book author Tarla Dalal is the author of the books Simple and Delicious Vegetarian Recipes and Modern Vegetarian Recipes.

(This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.)

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4 Healthy And Easy Snacks To Munch On During Quarantine - NDTV Food

We can find one revealing answer in the darkest days of the 17th century. In 1629, the British historian Erin Maglaque noted recently, a fearsome plague swept into Italy. In Florence, officials in the local health board tried to cordon off their city, but the disease slipped in anyway.

By August 1630 Florence was burying its dead by the hundreds in broad and deep pits. By the following January, the city had ordered citizens locked in their homes for a 40-day quarantine and then gone about the business of delivering food to the tens of thousands of locked-down households.

The food the Florentine health board had delivered would be exceptionally varied and fine: bread and wine, sausage seasoned with fennel and rosemary, rice and cheese, salads of sweet and bitter herbs. The health board, historian Maglaque tells us, considered the citys enormous outlay for good food a necessary expense. The poor of Florence had been living, city health officials realized, on diets that left them especially vulnerable to infection.

Improving the well-being of the poor, the Florentine health board believed, would be a key to the citys recovery. But this idea of feeding the poor at a high-quality level appalled many of the citys wealthy. They worried, one observer would later write, that the quarantine would give the poor of Florence the opportunity to be lazy and lose the desire to work, having for forty days been provided abundantly for all theirneeds.

Other Italian cities rejected the Florentine health board lead. They refused to provide abundantly for the needs of their poor and paid a price. In Florence, the plague ended with 12 percent of the population dead. In Venice, the death rate ran nearly three times the Florentine rate, in Milan almost four times.

Today, nearly four centuries later, Senator Lindsey Graham and his Republican Senate colleagues are marching right in the footsteps of those 17th-century Italians who found the prospect of anything close to abundance for the poor so scandalous.

This bill pays you more not to work than if you were working, Graham harrumphed before the Senate vote on his benefit-cutback amendment to the corona relief legislation.

What connects our affluent today to the wealthy elites of old Italy? The unnerving impact of inequality on the psyches of the privileged. The more wealth the wealthy of any epoch accumulate, the less they value those without wealth.

In deeply unequal societies, those who hold grand private fortunes must sooner or later come to grips with the vast gap that separates them from everyone else. Why do I have so much, becomes the unspoken question, while so many have so little?

The easiest answer: I must deserve my good fortune. I must be worthy. And if I owe my good fortune to my worthiness, then those without fortune must owe their sad circumstances to their unworthiness. They must be dumb or lazy or profligate or worse. These undesirables, this perspective plays out, do not deserve our generosity. Any generosity toward them would only open up, as Lindsey Graham puts it, a Pandoras box.

So assumed the rich of Florence so many generations ago. So assume their counterparts today. Then as now, that amounts to a deadly assumption.

Sam Pizzigati co-edits Inequality.org. His recent books include The Case for a Maximum Wage and The Rich Dont Always Win: The Forgotten Triumph over Plutocracy that Created the American Middle Class, 1900-1970. Follow him at @Too_Much_Online.

Continued here:
No Fennel in the Sausage, No $600 for the Jobless - Inequality.org

We live in interesting times. Health consciousness is in vogue, and so is mistrust of mainstream medicine. Ancient is often understood to mean effective. So its no surprise that kombucha, a fermented tea that dates back some 2,000 years, is the wellness drink of choice for many.

Pronounced kom-BOO-cha, the drink is a fusion of sugar, bacteria, yeast and, sometimes, fruit. Many people enjoy the tart, slight sweet taste of kombucha and may use it as a stand-in for soda or cocktails. But, undoubtedly, kombuchas popularity is also powered by its purported health benefits rumors that can be traced to the fermented teas origins.

Proponents of kombucha say it supports digestion, metabolism, immunity, liver function and more. Staunch kombucha evangelists say it can fight a variety of ailments, from hair loss to obesity to diabetes even cancer and AIDS. A bit of booch, as its affectionately known, is also thought to rejuvenate, revitalize, reenergize and restore ones body and mind.

But is kombucha a legitimate health panacea, or just another wellness fad?

Kombuchas popularity suggests people are interested in incorporating seemingly healthy options into their diet, writes Julie Kapp, an epidemiologist at the University of Missouri, in an email to Discover. However, there is often a gap, unbeknownst to the average consumer, between marketing and science. Kapp co-authored a 2019 review of kombucha studies that was published in the Annals of Epidemiology.

As with many other wellness trends, the jurys still out on kombuchas healing potential. There simply hasnt been much research in humans to support or refute the health claims made about the drink.

That said, kombucha has caught the eye of scientists, who are both studying and sipping the beverage. Athena Aktipis, an evolutionary biologist at Arizona State University, became interested in the science of kombucha after developing an affinity for the beverage herself.

I realized there was a huge gap in our understanding of what kombucha is [and] how it worked, she says. If we dont even understand that, how can we figure out what kind of benefits it has for humans, if it does, if we dont even understand the basics of how it works?

Kombuchas reputation as a miracle elixir isnt a recent development. Kombucha is thought to have originated in China around 220 B.C., where it was first used as a general healing and digestive aid. Over the centuries, the tea of immortality slowly made its way around the globe through trade routes.

In A.D. 414, a Korean physician named Dr. Kombu reportedly introduced the fermented drink to the ailing Japanese Emperor Inkyo. According to legend, the emperor was so impressed with kombucha that he named it kombu-cha, or Kombus tea.

Around 1900 (but possibly earlier) Kombucha made its debut in Russia, where it flourished as a homemade beverage. In the 1960s, a German doctor made unproven claims that his kombucha brew could fight cancer. Around the same time, researchers in Switzerland reported that drinking kombucha was as beneficial as eating yogurt.

Americas first taste of kombucha likely came during the 1970s, as the initial wave of the natural food movement took root. But kombucha never quite found its place on the American table during the processed-foods heyday of the 80s and 90s.

But times have changed. Microbiome research has revolutionized our understanding of our health. Understandably, this has prompted people to search for ways to keep their gut bacteria in good shape. And many view kombucha as the answer.

Inside every batch of kombucha is a diverse and cooperative ecosystem of microbes that work together to make the beverage, Aktipis says. The process starts by introducing a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast (also known as a SCOBY) into sweetened green or black tea. This concoction is left to ferment somewhere between a week and a month as several chemical changes occur. Essentially, the yeast and bacteria work on breaking down the sugars into alcohol, and the alcohol is then converted into compounds like acetic acid, or the stuff that gives kombucha its tang.

This is a SCOBY, where the yeast and bacteria that make kombucha live. (Credit: GreenArt/Shutterstock.com)

The end result is a beverage thats rich in B vitamins, antioxidants and other compounds. But its kombuchas probiotics or good-for-you bacteria that has piqued collective interest. And in this regard, kombucha might have a leg up over some other probiotic options out there.

When you are consuming any kind of probiotic, if youre taking a single species that doesnt have an ecological network, my guess is that theres not as many benefits to that as consuming an ecological community of microbes [like those in kombucha], Aktipis says.

How the microbes from kombucha interact with the other 100 trillion that already live in our digestive tract, if at all, remains a mystery. Scientists dont have proof that microbes in kombucha actually colonize our guts. But, technically, the microbes do become a part of our microbiome until they leave our bodies as waste, Aktipis says.

When it comes to consuming fermented foods, if theyre a regular part of your diet, those microbes spend a lot of time in your digestive tract where they can be having effects, even if they arent permanently colonizing, she adds.

Officially, the microbes in kombucha have not been confirmed to be probiotic, or beneficial. And some experts say the probiotics may not be able to survive the acidic environment of the stomach.

Its also important to note that not all kombuchas are created equal. That $4 bottle of kombucha might have a different microbial profile than the one sitting next to it on store shelves. Some have juice or sugar added to them. And some producers pasteurize their kombucha to halt the fermentation process in order to keep the alcohol content low which may cancel out some of the potential benefits of drinking kombucha, Kapp explains.

As kombucha has become more mainstream, some large-scale brewers have gotten into legal trouble, with allegations ranging from falsely advertising probiotic content to not being as low in sugar or alcohol as claimed.

Previous research on kombucha has mainly involved animals or cells in a dish which often dont translate to human health. Studies on the health benefits of fermented foods more broadly dont offer much insight, either. Some studies have found associations between fermented food consumption and improved health measures. But that doesnt definitively prove that fermented foods caused the health benefit.

In 2019, Kapp led a review of 310 studies on kombucha and found just onethat examined the teas effects in humans. In the study, 24 adults with type 2 diabetes consumed kombucha for three months, which resulted in average blood sugar levels normalizing. But there were some major limitations to the work not only was the study small, it didnt include a control group.

Kapp says randomized, clinical trials on people could help clear up some of the misinformation and confusion over kombucha health claims.

If kombucha has health benefits, important subsequent studies will need to address the following [questions]: At what dosage, frequency, and duration? In what populations and subpopulations? Kapp adds.

As kombuchas popularity grows, likely so will interest in studying kombucha. Even if scientists find that it doesnt quite live up to its reputation as a magical healing elixir, we can still enjoy kombucha for kombucha's sake.

When it replaces less-healthy options like sugary sodas, that alone is a health benefit, Kapp says.

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What Science Says About the Potential Health Benefits of Kombucha - Discover Magazine

Westbrook, Maine, April 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Synergy CHC Corp. (OTCQB: SNYR)With people around the globe told to stay in their homes and businesses closing their doors, its no wonder staying motivated and staying connected is becoming harder than ever.

Flat Tummy Lifestyle Appwhich launched with great success just a few months ago, is looking to help alleviate some of the stress that comes with self-isolation and social distancing.

Gyms around the globe are closed

Gyms can be an easy environment for viruses to thrive and be passed from one person to another, and at this point most have been instructed to close in hopes of slowing down the spread of COVID-19. These changes have left many without a next step to continue their health and fitness goals, but due to the nature of the Flat Tummy Lifestyle App, there are options.

At home fitness is a great way to stay in shape, or to start a positive change, but where so you start? Flat Tummy Lifestyle App has over 450+ individual guided workouts, spanning every category you could want in a fitness app: full body, arms, legs, booty, core, etc. Each category has a beginner, intermediate and advanced version to choose from. Perfect for beginners and pros. Bonus? No equipment or weights are necessary, which means you already have everything you need to get started today.

When eating out is no longer an option

For weeks the public has been advised to stay home and avoid gathering with other people, and while you may not be able to go to your favorite dining spot, that doesnt mean you need to compromise on taste or the experience.

With customizable meal planscatering to standard, keto, vegetarian, vegan, and goal specific diets, the Flat Tummy Lifestyle App offers something for every palate based on the individuals goal to lose, gain or maintain weight. This App takes that information along with personal preferences and develops a custom Monday-Sunday meal plan which includes Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and two snacks.This includes a full ingredient list, instructions on how to make it and nutritional information.

The plans themselves are modern, and as they consist of real meals women crave. They shouldnt be seen as just a diet gone are the ideas that a plain salad is the key to success.

On top of that, users also have the option to filter through the recipes by diet type, meal type, prep time and calories as the saying goes, abs are made in the kitchen after all. This takes the guesswork out of which foods you SHOULD be fueling your body with to get RESULTS, while also adding some new creative meal ideas to the mix. Even with the 7-day free trial, everyone who downloads the App has access to more than 750 recipes that are fun to make, tasty, and will help you reach your health goals.

Feeling the effects of social distancing

Its no secret that people are social, and generally thrive in the presence of like-minded individuals. This is one reason social distancing can cause loneliness, boredom, and make even the most up-beat people feel down. So how can we bring back the sense of community were missing?

By connecting with people who are facing the same struggle and who want to achieve similar goals to our own.

Flat Tummy Lifestyle App bridges the gap between being a health & fitness App, and social media platform by having a discussion forum built in. With a community of 3.5 million people working on their goals from home, feeling connected is a little bit easier.

How it Helps

Aside from providing the platform for people to connect and work on their fitness & nutrition goals, Flat Tummy is making the decision to download the App even easier. Theyre offering a full 7 day free trial for ANYONE to use, as well as 50% off their yearly subscription. Thats like a years supply of having a personal trainer and nutritionist in your pocket, every day, for what the average monthly gym membership is - they also provide daily progress tracking to help keep you motivated and accountable.

For businesses

Business owners are also feeling the effects of COVID-19 closures. Many have concerns about how to keep their employees and customers on their side and engaged. Providing them access to an online resource to stay fit, healthy and engaged with others at home, is important.

Flat Tummy Lifestyle is extending an invitation to partner with any business who would like help with this - from smaller gyms to large companies, all are welcome to reach out.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, regarding managements expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or Synergys prospects should be considered forward-looking. Readers are cautioned that actual results may differ materially from projections or estimates due to a variety of important factors, including: Synergys ability to integrate any new products into its current operations; the risks and uncertainties associated with Synergys ability to manage its cash resources; obtaining additional financing to support Synergys operations; Synergys dependence on third parties for its research and development, manufacturing and distribution functions; Synergys dependence on its license relationships; protecting the intellectual property developed by or licensed to Synergy; and Synergys ability to build its operations to support its business strategy and promote its products. These and other risks are described in greater detail in Synergys filings with the SEC, copies of which are available free of charge at the SECs website (www.sec.gov) or upon request from Synergy. Synergy may not actually achieve the goals or plans described in its forward-looking statements, and investors should not place undue reliance on these statements. Synergy assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Contact:Jack Ross - CEOSynergy CHC Corp.jack@synergychc.com(902) 237-1220

synergychc.com

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Working Out At Home With The Flat Tummy App - Bringing Women Together - GlobeNewswire

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of people need a lot of interpersonal support. A year ago, on any given day, you might have needed to be there for one friend who got laid off or had a major health scare, or contributed to a single GoFundMe. (OK, or even a bunch of GoFundMesthings weren't perfect then, either.)

Now, as the economy and the healthcare system melt down and literally everyones life is at risk, theres an even more urgent need to show up for everybodyunemployed friends, isolated loved ones, aging or ill family members, elderly neighbors, local businesses, healthcare workers in desperate need of PPE.

Everybody who needs showing up for also includes you, the person who, like the rest of us, is tasked with all this caring. (And who might also be expected to do even more, if youre a literal caregiver or have a sick relative.)

Its a lot. Theres no way to take care of yourself and be all things to all people during a pandemic with a recession rising. One thing you can do, today, is make what I think of as a care budget: a way to think about where your most valuable resourcesyour time, money, and energyare going each week. When you feel pulled in all directions, a care budget can help you functionally extend the help that you're able to give and take care of yourself in the process.

Creating a care budget isnt about ranking other peoples needs, which is a terrible, futile exercise. Its about carefully considering your own needs, values, and strengths, and being honest with yourself about how much you actually have to give to others. This budget isnt meant to be terribly literal, and it can take any form: a Google Doc, a list in your Notes app, a page in your journal, whatever. The idea is not to create a super granular breakdown of how youll spend every free minute or dollar you have, but to establish a flexible, sustainable framework that lets you show up for yourself and others on a big-picture, in-this-for-the-long-haul level.

If youve been feeling like youre not doing enough while also feeling like youre doing way too much, sit down and figure out what, exactly, enough looks like in these new circumstances. Heres how to do it.

Even if you already know intellectually that you cant take care of other people if you arent taking care of yourself, its very easy to tell yourself that you are an exception to this rulethat that advice is meant for other people who are definitely not you, because you can handle it. But youyes, you!!!are simply not going to be able to sustain taking care of other people if your basic needs arent being met, or if youre completely drained.

As a first step, think through what you need to a) literally survive and b) feel a little bit more OK. Do your best to not let what other people expect of you to influence your thinking on this; well get to their desires later, and you can adjust your expectations then if you want to.

Here are some things you might consider:

Mark the items on your list that feel most crucial in terms of your priorities. As you do this, keep in mind that were in a crisis and youre going to need to dramatically lower your expectations and standards, even for the things that felt really immovable and/or core to your identity a month ago.

Think about what the bare minimum for each of your priorities might look like in the coming weeks. Does exercise mean you need to go for a 30-minute run, or that you need to take a 20-minute walk, a few times a week? Will a 10-minute dance party every morning give you the boost you need in this new world?

Once youve got a firm grasp on your biggest needs, you can start to think about the folks who you most want to show up for. If your initial answer is everyone???? dont give up. Start with 35 people who are in your inner-inner circleyour partner, friends, children, siblings, parents, best friends. Also think about anyone who is dependent on you in some way (including your direct reports if youre a manager), and the close friends or loved ones who are already struggling.

Consider how your deeply held interests and values relate to how you want to take care of your loved ones, your community, and the causes most important to you. For example, if youre a teacher, you might be thinking a lot about your students in this moment. If you value social justice, what specific communities or organizations do you want to be there for? If you love going out to eat in your neighborhood and are worried about how the restaurant industry is being affected by the pandemic, thats a good thing to write down.

Your list can be as long or as short as youd like, as long as you feel strongly, on a gut-heart level, that these are your people. Remember that no one is going to see this list, so try not to let what you think you should be feeling or doing influence it.

Rather than trying to be all things to all people, as I mentioned earlier, see if you can fulfill a specific role in others' specific lives. In their book There Is No Good Card for This, authors Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell offer an empathy menu of suggestions for using your specific talents to help others. There are a lot of different ways to express empathy, they write. Some will feel more natural to you than othersand when something feels easy, you're more likely to do it. The menu exists to help you identify what role you are best suited to play during a crisis: The chef might drop off frozen meals; the researcher could sort through a ton of information relevant to a friends situation; and the opposable-thumbed might send texts that say, Im thinking of you.

Im finding this What can I, personally, offer? framework particularly helpful in a moment when there are so many people in need, and were all fairly limited in what we can do.

Things are changing very quickly, so think small; now is not the time to go into debtfinancial or emotionaltrying to help other people. Keeping your own needs in mind: Think about realistic, practical ways you might be suited to help the people on your list in the next few weeks.

Some categories and ideas to consider and write out answers for:

Let your needs and capabilities guide what your care budget looks like in practice. Again, you dont need to figure out how to spend every free minute or every last cent. I actually strongly discourage thatits super overwhelming. Its also just not practical when circumstances are changing quickly enough that you simply dont know what your or your loved ones health, finances, or employment will look like day to day.

Instead, keep the budget short, and the to-dos you include in it precise, but small. You could use bullet points and follow a format like this template:

Right now/once

Daily

A few times a week

Weekly

As you get going, you may start to think that if doing a little is good, doing a lot is even better. This is not true. The best thing you can do in this moment is to be realistic. Think about what you can do now, during a global crisis where a trip to the grocery store requires the mental preparation and acuity normally reserved for taking the LSAT, not what you could achieve in the world of three months ago, where conveniences like Ubers, free two-day shipping, spontaneous drinks at a bar, and hugs still existed.

Were going to be at home like this for a while, and things are likely going to get worse before they get better, so resist the urge to go all-out. Its good for absolutely no one if you burn through your reserves and flame out early onand, if you need to reason with yourself about this sometimes in order not to go too overboard, remind yourself that you'll be more helpful in the long run if you're considerate and selective about your care in the short-term.

Its impossible to predict how youll feel or what you or your loved ones will need in the coming days and weeks, so treat your budget like a living document. If you want a little more family time and a little less workout time as you go, thats fine! If you realize you dont have the bandwidth to talk to your parents every day, no problemadjust and move on. Keep it loose, keep it tight! I recommend setting a calendar reminder or alarm so you dont forget to revisit your budget and check in with yourself every few days.

Most of all: Your budget isn't a list of mandates. The idea is not to punish yourself for not fulfilling each and every task (which will definitely happen). This is really just a way of more intentionally checking in on yourself and those around you, something we should all be doing more of right nowin the precise ways that we can do that best.

Sign up for our newsletter to get the best of VICE delivered to your inbox daily.

Rachel Miller is the author of The Art of Showing Up: How to Be There for Yourself and Your People, coming May 2020. Follow her on Twitter.

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What to Do When Everyone Needs Support but You're Only One Person - VICE

Medical professionals often prescribe special diets to help people recover from certain medical procedures or bouts of illness.

Soft diets are commonly used in the clinical setting and include foods that are soft and easy to digest.

If you are prescribed a soft diet, you may wonder what foods you should eat and avoid and why you were put on this diet in the first place.

This article explains everything you need to know about soft food diets.

Soft food diets consist of soft, easily digestible foods and are prescribed to people who cant tolerate normally textured or highly seasoned foods.

Healthcare providers commonly prescribed these diets to people with certain medical conditions or who are recovering from surgery.

Soft food diets are used in many settings, including hospitals, long-term care facilities, and in the home. Theyre typically followed for short periods of a few days to a few weeks, though some circumstances may require the diet to be followed for a longer period.

Soft diets are often used to treat swallowing disorders, collectively known as dysphagia. Dysphagia is common in older adults and those with neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases (1, 2).

In 2002 the American Dietetic Association published the National Dysphagia Diet (NDD), which includes several levels of dysphagia diets (3, 4):

Although the point of texture-modified diets is to reduce the risk of aspiration and pneumonia in people with dysphagia, current research suggests that modifying food texture may result in a worsened quality of life and undernutrition, highlighting the need for more research (2).

In addition to dysphagia, soft diets are prescribed to people who have recently undergone mouth or jaw surgery that has affected their ability to chew.

For example, people who have undergone wisdom teeth removal, major jaw surgery, or dental implant surgery may need to follow a soft diet to promote healing (5).

Soft diets are also used as transitional diets between full liquid or pured diets and regular diets in people who have undergone abdominal surgery or are recovering from gastrointestinal illness to allow the digestive system to heal more effectively (6).

Additionally, soft diets can be prescribed to people who are too weak to consume regular foods, such as those undergoing chemotherapy, as well as to people who have lost feeling in their face or mouth or cant control their lips or tongue due to a stroke (7).

Although soft food diets used in both the clinical and home setting can vary, most that are used in the short term are low in fiber and bland to ease digestibility and the comfort of the person eating the diet (8).

Keep in mind that some people have to be on soft food diets for longer periods. In these cases, the diet may be higher in fiber and more flavorful than soft diets used in the short term.

Soft diets consist of foods that are easily chewed and digested. Theyre often prescribed to people with swallowing difficulties, those who have undergone abdominal surgery, and people with other medical issues.

Soft diets are used when regular-textured or highly seasoned foods cant be tolerated, which can happen for a number of reasons.

Soft diets should not be confused with pured diets. Although pured foods are allowed on soft food diets, pured diets are entirely different.

Overall, soft diets should consist of foods that are soft, as well as easy to eat and digest.

Here are some examples of foods that can be enjoyed on most soft diets (7, 8):

Keep in mind that there are different variations of soft food diets, depending on the condition theyre being used to treat. Some people with further restrictions may not be able to tolerate certain foods for various reasons.

Therefore, its always best to consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if youre following a soft diet and have questions about what foods youre permitted to eat.

Cooked fruits and vegetables, easily chewable proteins, and soft starches can be enjoyed when following a soft food diet.

Many foods should be avoided when following a soft food diet. Hard to digest foods, as well as those that are tough to chew, should be restricted. Typically, spicy and very acidic foods are also off-limits.

The following foods are commonly restricted on soft diets (7, 8):

Note that your healthcare provider may recommend further restrictions depending on your medical condition. Its important to have a good understanding of the diet thats prescribed and your individual dietary needs.

Foods that are difficult to chew and digest, as well as spicy and acidic foods, should typically be avoided when following a soft food diet.

Following any restrictive diet can be frustrating, especially when many healthy foods like raw fruits and vegetables are off-limits.

Still, there are many tasty meal and snack options for those following soft diets.

Here are some ideas for meals that can be eaten by people following soft diets:

In addition to meals, many people following a soft diet may want to include one or more snacks throughout the day.

Some snack ideas include:

Its important that all meals and snacks be as balanced as possible and include high protein foods, especially for those who have recently undergone surgery or have higher nutrient needs, such as those with cancer (9, 10).

Its possible to consume healthy and tasty meals and snacks when following a soft diet. Meals and snacks should be nutrient-rich to promote healing and overall health.

Although consuming a diet consisting of only soft foods can be difficult, the following tips may make following such a diet easier (7, 8):

Typically, soft diets are used as transitional diets for short periods until a person is ready to start eating a regular-consistency diet again.

Your healthcare provider will give you instructions on how long you should follow a soft food diet, while a registered dietitian can provide you with any other pertinent information.

If you have any questions or concerns about following a soft food diet or how to transition back to a regular-consistency diet, ask your medical provider for advice.

Choosing nutritious foods, focusing on protein, planning ahead, eating small meals frequently, and taking your time while eating are all smart tips for people following soft food diets.

Healthcare providers commonly prescribe soft food diets to help people recover from surgery and illness and make chewing and digesting food easier.

When following a soft food diet, its important to choose soft, easily digestible foods and avoid foods that are hard to chew or digest. Spicy and potentially irritating foods should likewise be avoided.

Although a soft food diet can be difficult to follow, its used to promote recovery, so its important to follow your healthcare providers instructions and comply until youre ready to transition back to a regular diet.

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Soft Food Diet: Foods to Eat and Foods to Avoid - Healthline

You know that fiber is an important component of a healthy diet. But lets be honest: Do you know what fiber is exactly? Lets ask a dietician.

Fiber is the non-digestible part of plant foods that is found in whole fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes, like greens, peas and lentils, Brynn McDowell, RDN tells us. Dietary fiber is broken down into two main categories: Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water and can be broken down by the good bacteria in our gut, and insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve and adds bulk to our stool, McDowell explains. Both are important to our daily diet, because fiber can help regulate blood sugar, lower cholesterol, feed the good bacteria in our gut, reduce the risk of heart disease, prevent constipation and help you feel (and stay) full after eating.

Current nutritional guidelines say that women under 50 years old should eat 25 grams of fiber per day, while women over the age of 50 should aim for 21 grams per day. And yes, getting enough fiber is important. Low dietary fiber intake can lead to poor digestive health, meaning increased risk for constipation, diverticular disease and hemorrhoids, McDowell says. Cholesterol levels in the blood can also increase, which can lead to an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. A diet low in fiber typically means a diet low in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and legumes. In addition to being low in fiber, this can also mean a diet lacking in various nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Yikes.

The great news is that adding high-fiber foods to your diet is pretty simple. One cup of raspberries contains 8 grams of fiber, a cup of whole wheat spaghetti has 6 grams, and half a cup of black beans has 7.5 grams. Plus, adding fiber to your diet doesnt have to be overly complicated. I recommend looking at your current meals and seeing how you can add more fiber into what you are already eating, McDowell tells us. For example, choosing 100 percent whole-wheat bread over white bread will increase the fiber content. Adding some fresh berries and sliced almonds to yogurt, putting a scoop of chia seeds or flaxseed into your morning smoothie or adding beans to soups or chili are all simple steps you can take in the kitchen to add more fiber to your meals. When increasing fiber in your diet, do it slowly and also make sure that you also increase your water intake.

Ready to amp up your fiber? Try one of these 14 tasty meals.

RELATED: What Is a Microbiome (and Why Should You Care About Yours)?

Nearly every element of this recipe has fiber in it: The two tablespoons of tahini in the dressing have almost three grams of fiber, and the lettuce and avocado add another nice boost.

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Most salads are high in fiber, but this veggie riff on the classic tuna-topped salad adds extra with green beans.

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Millet is a relatively unsung fiber hero. This whole grain packs in 9 grams per 100 gram serving, and its as delicious as pasta, we promise. Let it soak up all those spicy stew flavors and youll be hooked.

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Chickpeas are packed with fiber, and the more veggies you add to this curry, the more of the good stuff youll consume.

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Veganizing this dish with cashew cream adds fiber where dairy would usually be, and the pine nuts on top add an extra dash, too.

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The key to turning any salad into a meal? Add lentils. Theyre chock full of fiber, which fills you up (as you now know).

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By now, you're probably well acquainted with our friend quinoa. Its not actually a grain, its a seed, so it has tons of protein while still packing in an impressive amount of fiber.

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Made from buckwheat, Japanese soba noodles are a high-fiber alternative to white flour noodles. Peanuts also contain a decent amount, as do peas.

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If youre eager for a project, this homemade buckwheat gnocchi, made with creamy ricotta cheese, should be it. Potatoes are also a surprising source of fiber (about 5 grams are in one medium-sized potato). Add cabbage and even more greens to add fiber to the whole-grain based pasta.

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This composed salad looks like it came out of a restaurant kitchen, but its shockingly easy to make. Just grab your good knives, slice and assemble.

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In addition to being fiber powerhouses, mushrooms are also low in calories, fat and carbs. So stuff that portobello with even more fiber, in the form of creamy whole grains. One bite and youll forget you were aiming for healthy.

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Swapping out chips for crisp sweet potatoes is a clever and tasty move to add more fiber to a meal-worthy plate of nachos. Plus, the homemade tomatillo salsa and black bean topping add even more to the meal.

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Chili crisp amps up the spiciness of this vegetarian stew thats packed with fiber-rich ingredients. (Add a side of edamame and brown rice for even more.)

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The best meals come in an edible bowl. These stuffed peppers are super easy to make, and if you sub the white rice for brown rice or another whole grain (cook it a little first), youll add even more.

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RELATED: We Asked Three Nutritionists For Their Best Healthy Gut Tip...And They All Said the Same Thing

Excerpt from:
14 High-Fiber Meals to Add to Your Diet (and Why Fiber Is So Great In the First Place) - Yahoo Lifestyle

By Fred Swegles

Could a South Orange County voice instructor have discovered a way to preventor minimize the risks ofexposure to coronavirus?

ThomasAppell is convinced he has. A healthy diet.

In2004, he wrote a book, NeverGet Another Cold.

Hispremise is that our American diet is so laden with sugar that we lay out thewelcome mat for viruses.

Appell,65, used to suffer regularly from colds and the fluas did his voice students.So he went around asking people, How often do you get sick? He began queryinganyone who didnt. A common thread emerged.

People seemingly invulnerable to viruses avoided sugar, ate primarily a plant-based diet and drank lots of water. Appell provides a video testimonial, from a woman who hasnt had the flu in 55 years, at youtube/AeYapvCkosE.

Hesuggests that if people will just take a break from their typical diet duringthis coronavirus emergency, lives can be saved and people exposed can fare muchbetter.

OK,so were supposed to ditch pizza, pasta, hamburgers, alcohol, donuts, junkfood? Do we need to be perfect?

Strayinga little here or there isnt that bad, as long as you dont gorge on sugar,Appell says. If we get sugary foods off the table for the next month, werelikely going to see the whole corona threat become manageable.

Details are in an updated, illustrated coronavirus edition of his book, available in PDF for $9.95 at appellvoicestudio.com/product/never-get-another-cold/.

Its up to the individual to decide for themselves how safe they want to be. Zero tolerance is safest. However far you stray from a zerotolerance for sugar determines your risk level.

Appellalso has put together a COVID-19 Prevention Plan, appealing to President Trumpto allocate funding to let him assemble a task force seeking volunteers inthree groups:

Agree to cut out all sugar from their diet (includes soft drinks, energydrinks, candy, ice cream, desserts, etc.).

Agree to cut out all sugar and refined carbs (anything made with white flour orwhite rice) from their diet.

Agree to cut out all sugar and refined carbs, and drink at least two liters ofwater per day.

Itsmy belief, he says, that all groups will experience a dramatic decrease inthe number of coronavirus cases compared to the public at large.

Weasked him about it:

Whatled you to seek a solution?

Formy whole life, I had been plagued with the flu and colds. Starting in December2001, I had three terrible virus/flu/cold episodes in less than a year. Im avocal coach, and when Im sick, I cant sing. It became my mission in life tofind out how to stop my lifelong history of colds and flu.

Howdid you do it?

Ijust started asking everyone I met, When was the last time you had the flu ora cold? If they said anything more than a decade, I was all ears and startedasking questions.

Howdidyou test this?

OnceI knew what to do, I stopped getting sick. Then I tracked down the sickestsingers I coached and asked them to do it along with me. I ended up trackingthe results of six people. The group had 27 cold/flu episodes in the year priorto starting the diet. In the two years after starting out, only one personcaught a cold once. That translates to a 98-percent decrease in episodes. Then16 more years of seeing the same results, over and over.

Whatis the diet?

Eatalkaline foods and limit acidic foods. For flu prevention, the No. 1 thing todo is avoid any food that causes your blood glucose level to spike. Drinking aliter of water per day for every 50 pounds of body weight also really helps.

Somefoods to avoid?

Forperfect health, everyone has to nix or really limit anything with a high sugarcontent, or food that after digestion converts to sugar, like refined wheat.This includes soft drinks, candy, pizza, pasta and doughnuts. I have to reallywatch how much high-sugar fruit, like pineapple or peaches, I eat. A big fruitsalad can have just as much sugar as a 20-ounce Coke.

Whystop eating sugary foods?

TheInternational Diabetes Federation states, The Coronavirus may thrive in anenvironment of elevated blood glucose (sugar). This is exactly what Ive foundwith myself and all the people Ive worked with for 16 years.

Whatfoods should you eat?

Saladsare great. My first meal is a salad with avocados, spinach and cucumber, freshsqueezed lime juice and small amounts of low-sugar fruits like blueberries anda greenish banana to add some nice flavor. Most vegetables are greatraw orcooked, with the exception of corn, since corn has such a high sugar content.

Whatabout meat?

Idont eat meat, so I wont get heart disease. But small amounts of meat appearto not have much of a significant impact on catching a virus.

Doyou really expect people to give up pizza, pasta and sugar?

Inthe past, no. In 2020, with the risk of death and an economic meltdown fromfear of contracting the coronavirus, yes. Zero tolerance for refined sugar issafest. But small amounts can be OK as long as you dont spike your bloodglucose level. This is why the virus is spreading so fast. Countries that havea diet that leads to elevated glucose levels are at high risk.

Isit hard adapting to your diet?

Itsnot a challenge at all. Its delicious. And you feel so good after getting ridof all of the sugary sweets.

Whatwould you say to our leaders?

We cant afford to shut down the country every time COVID-19 rears its ugly head. I believe I can save America a trillion dollars, but, more importantly, save many lives. Containment and quarantine are temporaryprevention is best. Prevention through diet is our silver bullet.

Howquickly does your diet take effect?

Results are nearly instantaneous. After a person stops eating the foods that causes a virus to thrive, they stop becoming a potential host.

THOMAS APPELL

Occupation:Owner of Appell Voice Studio, author of Can You Sing a High C Without Straining beforealso writing Never GetAnother Cold

Background:Lived in San Clemente from 1987-1999; a regular in the surf lineup at LowerTrestles; still in town 3-4 days a week to surf Lowers

Residence: Coto de Caza

MORE TESTIMONIALS

MikeFinnerty: youtu.be/fs2xVe5BpXU

AppealTo President: youtu.be/SgRtLoJm6KQ

Fred Swegles is a longtime San Clemente resident with nearly five decades of reporting experience in the city. Fred can be reached at fswegles@picketfencemedia.com.

Related

See the original post here:
CoastLines: With No Coronavirus Vaccine, Is Diet the Next-Best Thing? - San Clemente Times

Fitness coach Jordan Syatt frequently tackles new diet challenges on his YouTube and Instagram. Previously, he lost weight while eating a McDonald's Bic Mac every day. Now, he documented how following the carnivore diet for 14 days affected his body. Syatt shared the results in a series of Instagram stories, which are pinned to his page.

As the name implies, the carnivore diet consists of meat and animal products, and Syatt ate plenty of fish, beef, and eggs. He weighed in at 154.8 pounds on the first day. The scale dropped to 151 pounds after five days.

Within 24 hours, he was struck with diarrhea, Syatt tells Men's Health.

"It burned. It was awful," he says. "You try to hold it and don't want to go through the painful process of cleanup."

The severity of his diarrhea became better after 10 days, he says.

When it came working out, Syatt says he had little motivation to hit the gym.

"My workouts were awful. I didn't have much energy at all," he says.

Additionally, Syatt's blood pressure increased within a few days of starting the plan. However, it returned to normal after about a week.

Admittedly, Syatt isn't a fan of the all-meat approachor any other restrictive diet. But he does say that eating meat prevented mindless snacking.

"I did not go to the fridge and open it up and say, 'What can I have?,'" Syatt explains. "If I'm not hungry enough to eat meat, then I'm just not hungry."

After 14 days, Syatt weighed 149 pounds and broke the diet with watermelon.

"Damn, carbs are life," he says in an Instagram story.

Read more:
The Carnivore Diet Helped This Fitness Coach Lose Weight, but Gave Him Diarrhea for Weeks - menshealth.com

The new film by a Boise-based production team examines the guidelines that demonized fatty foods for decades.

BOISE, Idaho The Boise-based production team that's made its mark with breathtaking, Emmy-winning documentaries featuring Idaho's outdoors has turned its cameras inside -- as in what your body does with the food you put into it.

As you may gather from the title, the filmmakers and the experts they feature want you to forget everything you've been told about fat. Turn the "food pyramid" upside-down. Maybe not literally, but close.

About 2 1/2 years ago, the film's producer,.Jennifer Isenhart, decided to take a sugar detox class.

She said that what she learned over those five weeks blew her mind.

The very first day of class, Isenhart said, they told her to not only avoid sugar, but eat more fat!

Isenhart said everything she had learned regarding a "proper diet," and everything we had been taught growing up, she was being told was wrong.

"I went out and started doing my own research on the topic and finding all of this information about how the dietary guidelines were upside down and backwards," she said. "The idea that we should cut back on all fat and instead eat seven to 11 servings of carbohydrates a day - which is what we were told in 1980, the first (federal) dietary guidelines - it actually coincides with the launch of the obesity and type-2 diabetes epidemic in this country."

While "Fat Fiction" raises questions about the guidelines, it does not claim that they were part of some big, deliberate conspiracy.

"I think, at the time, the people that were making these recommendations thought they were doing the right thing," Isenhart said. "All the people we interview in the film agree on that point. People weren't intentionally trying to give bad advice, but they jumped ahead of the science at the time. At the time that we recommended the low-fat diet to the nation, there was no science to prove that it was a healthy way to eat."

One person in the film's trailer calls the decades-old high-carb, low-fat guidelines "genocide."

Isenhart said she has heard from some friends in the medical profession who disagree with the film's premise.

"I just kept going forward, because the physicians that I've interviewed and the patients that I've interviewed are reversing chronic disease: Type-2 diabetes, like, in a matter of weeks, and it's happening over and over again with a low-carb, high-fat diet. Not only are they reversing a chronic disease, but all of their markers improve, so it's kind of hard to argue with that kind of evidence."

One of the arguments against a low-carb, high-fat - or keto - diet has been that there's little evidence of the long-term effects.

"That's one of the frustrations in this whole story -- the counterargument against keto and low-carb is 'well, there's no science,'" Isenhart said. "That was part of the problem ... no scientific studies would be funded if they were low-carb. That was part of the control of the status quo of the dietary guidelines -- funding to look at low-carbohydrate diets, for decades. Now, finally, Silicon Valley money has come in and funded some studies. And we finally just in the last five years are getting clinical trial evidence that low-carb, ketogenic diets reverse type-2 diabetes."

Isenhart said she feels really good about putting out a project that people can learn from and use to improve their health, without gimmicks.

"You don't have to buy anything. It explains how the metabolism in our bodies works, and it explains how you can reverse many chronic diseases by eating real, whole food."

One of the conditions considered "high-risk" in the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is type-2 diabetes -- the others mentioned by name are asthma and cardiovascular disease.

"Fat Fiction" is available on Amazon Video.

A special premiere showing will stream at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on Fan Force TV, with a live chat and question-and-answer session with the experts from the film.

Read more:
'Fat Fiction' takes a critical look at what we've been taught about nutrition - KTVB.com