Category Archives: Diet And Food

With travel out of the question due to the coronavirus pandemic, you can still have that gastronomic trip delivered to your home. Buzz60

Dairy is wiped out. There are two packages of chicken left. The vegetables are mostly gone.

These are the sights that have met Americans in grocery stores across the country as fears about the coronavirus pandemic have led to panic shopping. The absence of staple food products like bread, eggs and chicken is stressful for everyone, but particularly hard on those people who follow specialdiets for medical reasons or personal preferences.

When canned beans or pasta aren't options for you, it may seem like getting through a long stretch of social distancing might be impossible. But there are ways for those who follow vegan, gluten-free or keto dietsto make it through with substitutes, home cooking and a lot of patience.

More: I tried weight-loss app Noom for three monthshere's what happened

You won't find shelves this full anywhere during the coronavirus pandemic.(Photo: Getty Images)

Go for long-lasting produce.Root vegetables, cabbage, squash, apples and citrus fruits will stay ripe longerthan many greens and berries.

Make your own nut butters and milks.Whizzing nuts in a high-powered blender or food processor can replace almond butter from a jar.

Embrace vegan baking.Cookies made withaquafaba (aka, the liquid leftover from a can of chickpeas or other legumes), vinegar instead of eggs and butter in cakes, coconut oil instead of butter or lard in pastry many vegan baking tricks are more shelf stable than their traditional counterparts.

Many bread recipes are gluten-free.(Photo: Stephen Barnes / Getty Images)

The good news for those who must avoid gluten is that gluten-free products are less in demand than the regular wheat varieties, so you may not be facing shortages at your local store. But if you are, here are a few tricks.

Try veggie substitutes.If there is no gluten-free pasta at your store, grab some zucchini and make zoodles (with a spiralizer, oruse a vegetable peeler to make long strips that resemble fettuccine) with your favorite pasta sauce. An eggplant or portobello mushroom can be a burger bun.

Try gluten-free baking, but don't stress.There are hundreds of gluten-free baking recipes online, but many require specialty ingredients. But you can make simple edible cookie dough by grinding nuts in a food processor to use as flour, for instance; see more baking substitutes here. Sourdough breadscan be easier for people with gluten sensitivities to eat.

Recipes: Easy breadsyou can make during the coronavirus quarantine even if you're out of yeast, milk or butter

Foods often found on the ketogenic diet include fish, berries, nuts, eggs, cheese and avocado.(Photo: ThitareeSarmkasat / Getty Images)

In addition to being a popular diet for weight loss, people follow the ketogenic diet for a number of medical conditions, including epilepsy, diabetes and polycystic ovarian syndrome. The extremely low-carbohydrate diet relies mostly on meat, dairy, non-root vegetables and some nuts and seeds. Dairy in particular has been hard to acquire in manystores. Here are a few tips.

Pick long-lasting vegetables that are keto-friendly.Eggplant, spaghetti squash, cabbage and cauliflower are all low in carbohydrates and last for weeks when stored correctly.

There are some shelf-stable keto products.Coconut milk and cream, plain nuts and seeds, canned vegetables, chicken and beef broth, low-carb protein powder (great for making low-carb bread substitutes), canned pumpkin, ghee, coconut oil and pork rinds are among products worth investigating. Full-fat coconut milk can be used to replace dairy products in most recipes.

Make cheese or yogurt at home.If some dairy is available and some isn't, grabbing milk, heavy cream and live culture yogurt can set you up to create other dairy products at home. To make ricotta or paneer cheese, you need only distilled white vinegar or lemon juice, whole milk, heavy cream and salt. Milk and a little yogurt (with live cultures) can make much more yogurt (very easily if you have an electric pressure cooker).

Try new meat, or new ways of preparing it.Meat is disappearing from shelves, so now is the time to be creative. If ground meat is sold out, try grinding chicken thighs or a cut of beef in a food processor (freeze the meat for 15 minutes first, to help prevent the meat from getting mushy). Tinned chicken, meat and fish can be brought back to life with the proper recipes (chicken salad, fried canned meat, Caesar salad dressing).

Add more fat to your meals to make them more filling.Coconut oil, butter, mayonnaise and other fatty condiments can make a keto meal more filling without requiring another trip to the store for more chicken. Adding butter or coconut oil to coffee has long been a filling keto trick.

More: WW (formerly Weight Watchers) and Noom make losing weight easierwhich is right for you?

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Try smaller, independent grocers.Asian and Latin markets, bodegas and other stores that aren't national chains may have a larger selection of products right now. Online markets that sell specialty ingredients are also viable.

Make smaller meals for the people in your family with dietary restrictions.If everyone usually eats gluten-free, but only one family member has celiac, try saving the gluten-free products specifically for that person, and let the rest of the family go through the pasta.

Lean on your spice drawer.If you can't vary your meals too much (they only had rice so you're eating a lot of rice now), vary meals with different spice combinations. Ingredients like soy sauce, anchovies and Worcestershire sauce can be added to many recipes to increase savory, umami flavor (anchovies in pasta sauce, it's not crazy).

Ferment everything!Kombucha, pickles, peppers, onions fermentation will help keep your food good for longer. It's also a fun hobby you might keep long after social distancing is gone.

Make big batches, freeze leftovers.Doubling a casserole and freezing the extra portions will give you easy, microwavable meals later.

Keep it simple and low waste.Rely on meals that are easy to prepare and don't create much waste. Save meat bones and vegetable scraps for making stock later. Use up vegetables in a frittata or soup before they go bad, fruit in a smoothie or dessert. You can even plant vegetable scraps if you have a backyard.

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Sources: Bon Appetit, The Kitchn, The Pioneer Woman, Healthline andUSA TODAY research

Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/food-dining/2020/03/27/coronavirus-quarantine-how-stick-with-gluten-free-keto-vegan-diet/2919594001/

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What to do during the coronavirus quarantine if you're on a diet - USA TODAY

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The new study analyses for the first time the diet of the only fossil remains of this primate with the analysis of buccal dental microwear. According to the conclusions, the eating pattern of this guenon -the most abundant in the fossil records from the African Pleistocene- would be different than the one in the baboonTheropithecus gelada-the phylogenetically closest species living in Semien Mountains, northern Ethiopia, at the current moment-, which usually eats herbs and stalks.

The study, led by the lecturers Laura Martnez and Alejandro Prez-Prez, from the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona (UB), counts on the participation of experts from the Faculty of Earth Sciences and the Faculty of Psychology of the UB as well as members from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, University of Alicante, the Museum of Orce Prehistory and Palaeontology (Granada) and the George Washington University (United States).

Cueva Victoria: the long journey of the African baboonTheropithecus oswaldi

The genreTheropithecusspread over the Sahara Desert, from east to north and south in the African continent. Its evolutionary lineage, also present in some European and Asian areas, reached its limit of disappearance about 500,000 years ago. Today, it would be only represented by the speciesTheropithecus gelada, a baboon which only eats plants and shows an ecological profile more similar to herbivore animals rather than primates.

Cueva Victoria provided with fossil remains of about a hundred species of vertebrates and it is one of the few European sites of the early Pleistocene with remains of human species. Credit Universidad de Barcelona

In 1990, the excavation campaign led by the palaeontologist Josep Gibert found the first fossil remain -a tooth- ofTheropithecus oswald(Journal of Human Evolution, 1995). This cave -an old manganese mine- provided with fossil remains of about a hundred species of vertebrates and it is one of the few European sites of the early Pleistocene with remains of human species. Outside the African continent, the fossil records of this baboon is scarce and researchers have only found other remains in Ubeidiya (Israel) and Minzapur (India).

The new fossil evidence ofT. oswaldi-which date back to 900,000 and 850,000 million years ago- were recovered by a team led by the lecturers Carles Ferrndez-Caadell and Llus Gibert, from the Department of Mineralogy, Petrology and Applied Geology of the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the UB. The presence of this African guenon in the south-eastern area of the Iberian Peninsula strengthens the hypothesis of the animal dispersal models going from the African continent to Europe during the Pleistocene through the Strait of Gibraltar.

What was the fossil baboon diet like in the south of the Iberian Peninsula?

The analysis of the produced buccal-dental stretch marks due to food intake reveal theT. oswaldispecimens in Cueva Victoria would have a more abrasive diet compared to the currentT. gelada, and more similar to the diet of other primates such as mangabeys i(Cercocebus sp) and mandrylles (Mandrillys sphinx), which eat fruits and seeds in forested and semiopen ecosystems, notes Laura Martnez, lecturer at the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences of the Faculty of Biology and first author of the study.

Other recent studies based on the observation ofT. geladain the area of Guassa, Ethiopia, describe a more diverse diet, with rhizome and tubers over the most unfavourable season. The difference betweenT. oswaldi andT. gelada-continues the researcher- shows that the observed specialization in the current baboon could be a derived specialization which did not exist in the fossils of its lineage. This could respond to a regression in its ecological niche as an adaptation to anthropically altered ecosystems or as a result from climate change.

The published study inJournal of Human Evolutionwhich analyses dental and cranial adaptions of primates from the tribe papionine as the analogue model to the evolution of the hominini lineage -which shared a common geographical space in similar datings. The new study on dental microwear counted on the support from the Spanish Ministry for Research, Development and Innovation, the Catalan Government and La Caixa Foundation.

Universidad de Barcelona

Header Image Credit Nanosanchez

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Study reveals the diet of the fossil primate 'Theropithecus oswaldi' found in the site of Cueva Victoria in Spain - HeritageDaily

Austin Ekeler has nearly 25 million reasons to stay in peak shape for his fourth year in the NFL. Coming off a breakout season in which he recorded 92 receptions (second behind only Carolina Panthers star Christian McCaffrey among running backs), he signed a four-year, $24.5 million deal to return to the San Diego Los Angeles Chargers. With former top backfield option Melvin Gordon off to the Denver Broncos, and longtime quarterback Phillip Rivers headed to the Indianapolis Colts, Ekeler is about to become a focal pointif not the focal pointof a revamped offense.

Ekeler was already planning on a weight room-heavy offseason, and hes had to adjust to the coronavirus pandemic. Here, he explains his unorthodox workout regimen, streaming his workouts like a gamer, and how he's training for an NFL season in a moment of social distancing.

GQ: There are obviously far more pressing matters with this outbreak, but for NFL players, how are COVID-19 and social distancing affecting the offseason?

Austin Ekeler: Right around this time is when Pro Days would be going on, and a lot of under-the-radar players would be getting the opportunity to show their skills. I was one of these players. I needed the Pro Day to show to scouts that I could play.

How are you managing to get your workouts in now?

Finding a gym is nearly impossible. I can run, but I need to keep up my weightnot through eating, but by lifting. I have some small weights at home. Its not the type of training Id like to be doing, but Im still engaging my muscles.

I saw youve been live-streaming your home workouts on Twitch. What was behind that idea?

I actually started my Twitch stream a while back to make people aware that Im also a gamer. But more recently I wanted to stream the workouts to have a different interaction with fans and people around the world. My game of choice is League of Legends. I dont play sports games or shooters, although I may try a shooter game if this quarantine lasts a few more weeks.

Whats one exercise an NFL running back would recommend to esports players?

Run [laughs]. Id say run just because youre sitting down so much, and that will engage your entire body. I wouldnt say lifting would be absolutely necessary. I would think youd need more aerobic-type activities.

Take us through one of your workouts.

My girlfriend Taylor [Frick] is a personal trainer, and shes been coming up with these aerobic, full-body workouts, using lots of core holds and different athletic movements. We did one the other day, and my legs were like Jell-O. Youre pushing it the entire time. When I got done I was dripping in sweat.

We did burpees, different types of lunges, pushups, and engaged our core, all for 30-second intervals. She also loves to do different types of jumpsstar jumps, some twist jumps. Those are good, functional workouts that will get your heart rate up after about 30 seconds. They kind of fit into the aerobic type of movements I should be doing as a football player.

Is it true you like to wing it when you hit the gym?

I have a loose plan about what the days workout will be. Like, I know if my workout is going to be lower-body, but thats it until I get to the gym. Ill switch it up, shock the body in different ways. For example, Ive recently been working with a trainer on lower-body workouts. Hes a CrossFit guy, so well incorporate lots of volume. But I wont know the exact movements until Im at the gym. Ill set up different equipment, try different things to keep my body guessing, kind of like simulating the uncertainty on the football field. Its a unique way of working out, but its something Ive always done.

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The Real-Life Diet of the L.A. Chargers' Austin Ekeler, Whos Streaming His Workouts Like a Gamer - GQ

Plants rich in starch helped early humans to thrive even at the height of the last Ice Age, researchers say.

While the evidence around meat eating is clear, the role of plant foods is less understood. Animal bones can last millions of years and still show cuts made by human butchering tools, whereas almost all plant remains disintegrate.

But new studies into the remains of plants that do exist are uncovering why and how our ancestors ate them.

Plants were the staples. They were the foods that formed the basis of our calories in most environments, said Dr Amanda Henry, a paleobiologist and associate professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Tubers and cereals are full of starch making them good sources of glucose, which is important for brain growth as well as energy, says DrHenry. She leads a project called HARVESTwhich is studying the diets of early human species and the role of plants as food. Tubers are organs where plants store nutrients modern examples include potatoes and yams.

Some of the earliest evidence she found of eating tubers and cereals dates back 40,000 years, to the Paleolithic era. Neanderthal remains discovered in caves in Iraq and Belgium show that our cousins likely ate water lily tubers, and grains from relatives of wheat and barley grasses.

Innovation

But unlocking the energy in them required innovation. The grains may have been eaten green when they are easier to digest, but many tubers are toxic raw, says Dr Henry.

They are likely to have cooked them, said DrHenry. This not only releases energy but also makes tubers safe to eat.

(Weve found) evidence of heating food in the presence of water which suggests they were boiling them, said DrHenry. Changes in the starch granules which suggests this type of cooking were found on the dental calculus (tartar).

The Neanderthal remains indicate they ate a wide variety of plant foods. This throws doubt on a theory that they died out because they had a narrower diet than our direct ancestors, DrHenry says.

Other researchers have found earlier evidence of cooked tubers from South Africa in a fireplace dating back more than 100,000 years.

During the last glacial period when ice caps expanded to cover much of northern Europe, there was an explosion of a new technology driven by the need for processing new sources of plant food: the ground stone.

It was a major evolutionary success, dating back about 30,000 years, says Dr Emanuela Cristiani, associate professor in prehistoric archaeology at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy.

Hunter-gatherers primarily used knapped tools, made from big pieces of stone, says DrCristiani. At a certain point another technology appears like a boom which is the ground stone technology (It was) not used to cut or scrape or pierce, but to grind material, she said.

It means people were looking for new ways to eat during this dramatic climatic period, she said.

A lot of Paleo diets talk about health, but by this they mean weight loss. And I cant think of a single human ancestor who wanted to lose weight.

Amanda Henry, Leiden University, the Netherlands

Through a project called HIDDEN FOODS, DrCristiani is studying diets of humans in southeastern Europe from the late Paleolithic era when they were hunter-gathers to the Neolithic era, when there is the first evidence of farming in the region about 8,500 years ago. She is also exploring the evolution of plant food processing technologies.

Flour

Grinding meant people could make flour, which is another way of unlocking the energy in plants. The team found evidence in ground stones and plant remains in dental calculus that hunter-gatherers in the central Balkans ate a lot of wild oats, legumes and acorn flour, says DrCristiani.

The earliest evidence of flour dates back 30,000 years and was found in Russia, the Czech Republic and Italy.

It is likely that hunter-gatherers at the team's Italian research site ate cattail plants, which are abundant in a nearby river.

We think they used mostly roots. The plants root is very rich in starch and once its dried, you can make it into flour, said DrCristiani. The flour makes a sweet-tasting bread, she adds.

Paleolithic

The average Paleolithic person who survived infancy seems to have lived to age 50 or 60. It wasnt a life of luxury, it was probably a lot of work and generally cold, requiring quite a bit of effort, said DrHenry.

These early humans are likely to have died primarily from a combination of infections, parasites and physical trauma, she says.

Once people started settling and rearing animals and crops, disease levels rose mainly because they jumped from animals to humans and life expectancy appears to have fallen. That being said, agriculture is associated with increase in population size. Youre not living as long, but youre having more kids, said DrHenry.

Today, some people seeking a healthy alternative to modern industrialised diets look to the eating styles of our hunter-gatherer ancestors for inspiration.

The so-called Paleo diet eschews cereals, recommends few carbs and promotes meat and vegetables. But archaeologists say it does not represent the full diet of hunter-gatherers who ate cereals and relied on carbohydrates.

HIDDEN FOODS researchers found remains of legumes, oats and acorns in 10,000-year-old teeth from the last hunter-gatherer groups who built villages along the Danube river. This shows our idea of a Paleo diet as primarily based on protein intake is completely wrong, said DrCristiani.

Its important to understand for real what the (ancient) Paleolithic diet was. It was a very balanced way of eating, she said.

Hunter-gatherers were looking for calories, so carbohydrates in tubers and cereals would have been important.

A lot of Paleo diets talk about health, but by this they mean weight loss. And I cant think of a single human ancestor who wanted to lose weight, said DrHenry.

Diversity was integral to peoples diets, as was their ability to move to new regions. Plant foods vary a lot between environments. So, every time a human went to a new place, they had to learn what was edible, what was going to kill them and what was medicine, she said. There is no one size fits all diet. Anyone who tells you differently is trying to sell you something.

The research in this article was funded by the EU's European Research Council. If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.

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How Stone Age humans unlocked the glucose in plants - Horizon magazine

Kwame Onwuachi and his cheesesteak. Photo: Margalit Cutler

Kwame Onwuachi has gone from spending his days thinking about cooking to thinking about how to get his employees back to cooking. The chef of Washington, D.C.s Kith/Kin who last year won the James Beard Foundations Rising Star Award and got his memoir optioned by A24 has been working with other industry leaders to get some relief for independent restaurants. Hes been in New York over the last week, staying with a friend, as he tries to get a coronavirus test so he can see his grandparents. Read his Grub Street Diet below.

Saturday, March 21I was back in New York after being down in D.C., staying at my friends place in Hudson Yards. I came up here trying to get a test for COVID-19 because its easier to get one here than in D.C., in case you were wondering, Why are you here where theres the highest number of cases of the coronavirus? It was so I could see my grandparents. My grandfather has a blood disease from cancer; he has to get a blood transfusion every week. I had to do a phone consultation first with the doctor. That was at 10 p.m. today, so more on that later.

At 10 a.m., I went on a run with my fianc and two dogs because all the gyms were closed. We went to 42nd Street to check out the emptiness. It was nuts, man. You know what it reminded me of? The blackout of 2003. Obviously, Times Square was empty then, because the screens were down and everything was down. But it wasnt as empty as it is now. There was literally nobody there. I ran down to the Meatpacking District, too no one there. It was very eerie.

Along the way, we stopped at Ess-a-Bagel to show support.We were just walking past it. We bought everything bagels, because of course. I got a couple of bagels for my friend, as well as a whole wheat one for myself. When we got back to the place, I drank ten ounces of egg whites for pure protein, and soft scrambled eggs to go with a half of my bagel.

Im eating really healthy right now. I dont want to call it a diet, but Ive just rearranged the way that I think about food. In terms of fat content, how long it stays in my body, how my body burns off calories. Ive been on this for about two months, lost 27 pounds, and toned up a lot. Ive been working out three times a day.

Around noon, I had a lunch smoothie with spinach, kale, apple, mango, flaxseeds, oat milk, and protein powder.

I was feeling kind of hopeful today. Like, Oh, well be back in two weeks because D.C.s mayor had said April 1. Then, Mayor Bowser announced that shed rescinded her dates, and that restaurants couldnt reopen until April 27. My heart dropped, I didnt even know what to tell my staff. Its a crazy time.

I just felt extreme sadness. I was worried about what my staff was going to do. You know, a lot of people work paycheck to paycheck, and even if you dont, maybe you have kids who are home from school now, whom you have to feed three times a day. Thats pretty significant. If billion-dollar corporations dont have enough money to get through two weeks of no income, what makes anyone think the average American does?

That was a tough afternoon, and its been really tough lately. So we had a fajita night for dinner. I made it just to bring some joy. I made roasted peppers and onions, refried beans, this charred scallion-cashew-and-hazelnut salsa, salmon and chorizo hash, and roasted garlic-rubbed flank steak. My fianc made pico de gallo. We had corn tortillas, of course. It was pretty tasty.

Around 10 p.m., I did that phone consultation with my health-care provider. Afterward they were like, Yeah, even if you have it, were not going to test you because youre young. So just stay at home for 14 days and take some Tylenol. I told them I wanted to see my grandfather, and they said, Thats probably not a good idea unless you get tested. I said, Well, youre not testing me. And they told me, essentially, Well, we dont have enough tests, so hope they make it.

We played Mexican dominoes with our friends until 2 a.m. Loser had to either drink or do 100 crunches. By the time we went to bed I was up to 1,200.

Sunday, March 22Had breakfast at 11 a.m. Two soft scrambled eggs with mushroom brown rice. We watched Love Is Blind, which is hilariously sad.

I spent my day calling a lot of my people and seeing how unemployment was going. Some of them were having trouble with the system for filing for unemployment; for some of them it was very easy. It depended on what time they called. Eventually they all figured it out, but it wasnt a smooth process.

I ate a few things through the afternoon into the evening. I had my smoothie for lunch. This one was kale, strawberry, kiwi, oat milk, and flaxseed.

Around 6 p.m., I had the Thai red curry that my fianc made she works in the industry, too over arugula and avocado. And for dinner, I made a brown-rice bowl with seared salmon belly, marinated peppers, and romaine with lime.

Monday, March 23I had some protein powder early in the morning, and worked out. I had a trainer who was seeing me, so hes been sending me workouts through this app. Leg routines I can do at home, ab workouts, high-intensity interval training. Ill do 15 push-ups, knee raises, bicycle crunches, ten squats, in succession. Stuff like that.

Later in the morning, I had my egg whites and a smoothie with kale, romaine, strawberry, and mango. I had that while I got on a call with a fellow chef about a plan to reopen restaurants around the country as community kitchens. He wants to do this at ten restaurants per major city, with 20 people per restaurant, so it gets some of the workforce back on. Thats the idea he has, so were just talking it through and figuring out how we would be able to do that.

Around 2 p.m., I had seared chicken breast with marinated peppers and lemon. I called one of my cooks, Tyrone, to see how he was doing and how it was going with filing for unemployment. I got him an interview with the New York Times about Easter, and how this is all affecting African-Americans because thats a holiday we celebrate and we cant get together right now. I was talking to him about that whole process, how he was feeling, and the restaurant and his growth since he started there.

I checked in on my grandparents. Its hard thinking about the fact that my grandfather has this blood disease, and I cant even go and see him. For obvious reasons, hes at risk. But its because they dont have enough tests. Its tough. We talked about that.

That night, I made my fianc Xiang-style noodles with pork and shrimp, and made myself poached shrimp in a scallion-fish-sauce broth and charred broccoli. Later on in the night, I made myself dinner: seared, plant-based Italian sausages with cherry peppers I cooked until they were jammy; spinach; and a spicy tomato broth I made with red pepper flakes and a little bit of chicken broth.

Tuesday, March 24At 8:30 a.m., I woke up and did 400 crunches and a HIIT workout. Then I had my ten ounces of egg whites, a kale, flaxseed, and mango smoothie. I drank that while on a phone conference for the Independent Restaurant Coalition, a group thats kind of like the Avengers of chefs. Danny Meyer, Tom Colicchio, Andrew Zimmern, Will Guidara, Marcus Samuelsson, Andrew Carmellini, Naomi Pomeroy, and many more all these people coming together along with a lot of support from the James Beard Foundation. So, we get together at 8:30 a.m. and also 5:30 p.m. and talk about what were working toward: Who in Congress are we talking to? What progress have we made? How can we represent the restaurant industry in totality? Ultimately, we were trying to get the restaurant industry included in the stimulus plan. So using our collective contacts to make sure that happens. So yeah, thats taken up a lot of my time as well: quote, unquote, lobbying for small restaurants. Just making sure were not forgotten.

For lunch, I made Trinidadian curried chicken with charred cauliflower over arugula. My family is from Trinidad, so its something I eat all the time. I have a curry powder I got down there called Chief and theres green seasoning in there as well, a culantro pure. You marinate the chicken in that and cook it.

I got ready for my Instagram Live, and did more crunches. For lunch, I had another smoothie. This one was kale, pineapple, and protein powder.

On Instagram, Ive started doing a cooking show called Eating Clean While Quarantined. I put the recipe out the day before so people can go shopping, and every recipe takes only 20 minutes or less. So I did a chorizo-white-bean stew with shrimp.

For dinner, my fianc made zaatar-rubbed chicken with broccoli and cauliflower, plus a white-bean pure.

Around 11 p.m., I had two scoops of nice cream. Its whipped bananas with vanilla and cinnamon. It has the texture of ice cream. Its really sweet, and it kind of hits that craving. Its a lot better for you than ice cream, but ice cream is my favorite food, so it helps curb that urge.

I was still at my friends house then, and my grandparents called me. They said, We didnt want to tell you, but whats happening with your grandfather, its getting serious. I thought again about how the doctor said I cant even go and see him until I get tested. I was sitting there bawling my eyes out. But I had to get ready because I had to be on Fox News with the chef Naomi Pomeroy, whod just written an op-ed for the Washington Post, to talk about the restaurant industry.

Its something thats extremely important to me because the well-being of my staff equates to the well-being of this industry that I work so hard to make into something. I want to make sure that its still there when this is all said and done. I try to stay optimistic about things, because without optimism, theres no one taking a chance on anything, right? You cant go into anything that youre trying to change or make something happen with a negative connotation.

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Chef Kwame Onwuachi Is Cooking to Cope - Grub Street

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Working from home can alter your routines and that includes mealtimes. Flickr/DG EMPL

The coronavirus uprooted most of our lives in many ways. We're now less social, less active, and way more anxious. It feels like we're in a state of limbo. As a result, people continue to veer away from their regular routines which is something you want to avoid.

"So many people are going off the deep end, eating pizza and drinking all day because they don't want to accept the reality of the situation," nutrition coach, Jeb Stuart Johnston, told Business Insider. "They can't control everything, so they control nothing. They're living in denial and that's amplifying anxiety and unrest, which leads to using alcohol and food as coping mechanisms."

Johnston says that accepting the situation at hand, although difficult, is another coping mechanism that helps remove emotion from the situation. This way, you're able to make more rational decisions.

A primary key to maintaining balance in your life is to keep a fully stocked kitchen with both foods you'd typically eat and healthy options that help you feel full. By having more food at home, you'll be less tempted to make frequent trips to the store and order out (though, we're not against occasionally doing so to support local business). You'll also save money, which is never a bad thing.

We tappedSamantha Cassetty, MS, RD, who is a national nutrition and wellness expert based in New York City, to find out what foods you should buy, how to overcome eating when you're bored, and ways to manage alcohol consumption (hey, no judgment, we could all use a drink right now).

Cassetty suggests focusing on six food categories: fruits, veggies, dairy, proteins, fats, and grains. She also says that it doesn't matter if you buy fresh, frozen, canned, or dried versions of these foods, but you should have a strategy in place to assure nothing goes to waste.

"You want to apply a system to make sure you're eating fresh foods first and using longer-lasting foods to stretch out your grocery supply," Cassetty said. "For example, mix tuna with chickpeas, white beans, or shelled edamame, and you'll get more meals out of a single can. Whip up a white bean puree to use alongside a chicken dinner or add some nuts to a veggie stir fry."

If you're concerned about the quality of frozen veggies and fruit, don't be. A 2015 study in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry" compared the vitamin content of eight fruits and vegetables and found that the amounts were equal in both, and in some cases higher in the frozen variety.

A balanced diet includes a mix of fruits, veggies, dairy, proteins, fats, and grains Miroslav Pesek/Shutterstock.com

Below, Cassetty shared the best foods you can buy in each of the categories mentioned above.

Cassetty believes that being at home more often is an opportunity for us to become more in tune with our body's hunger signals. If we learn to listen to what our body says, she asserted, then you'll find it's probably less hungry as you're less active.

"Your body gives you clues when it's painfully hungry and painfully stuffed and chances are, you've noticed those signals," Cassetty said. "But sensations of moderate hunger and moderate fullness are harder to recognize. Your body is really cool, and your appetite can level out as you're moving less."

On the other hand, Johnston added that your NEAT or non-exercise activity thermogenesis (a fancy way to say calories burned through non-exercise related movement) accounts for 15% of total calories burned in a day. As we're moving less, our energy expenditure goes down but Johnston doesn't believe it causes us to feel less hungry.

"NEAT doesn't cause large shifts in our hunger hormones as intense exercise does," he explained. "We may be inadvertently increasing our hunger cues actually by being in a heightened food-centric environment."

Cassetty believes you should start to pay attention to when you're actually hungry versus just thirsty or bored, and begin to eat according to those signals. Cassetty noted that people who graze meaning they eat small snacks continually throughout the day aren't giving themselves a chance to identify hunger cues.

"Distract yourself in other ways and become more familiar with these sensations," Cassetty added. And as Johnston put it: "Hide your snacks."

Self-quarantine can be a lonely and isolating experience. For many, cooking food is a way to kill time and feel better. Do this too many times, though, and you'll end up overeating and gaining unwanted weight as a result.

"Focus on developing a new routine by doing things like waking up and going to bed at the same time, eating three regularly scheduled meals every day, and carving out time to stay active as well as relax," Cassetty said. "Also, eating out of boredom is totally normal, so if you do find yourself nibbling on a cookie, be kind to yourself."

Taking care of yourself in other ways helps offset this behavior, too. Cassetty recommends focusing on different aspects of your health such as sleep, stress, and social interaction.

"If you're stressed, take a bath or read a book. If you're missing social connections, call or FaceTime a friend or organize a larger, virtual meet up. If you're bored, do a lap around your house, go get the mail or just take a stroll down the driveway, or fold a load of laundry," Cassetty said. "When you have solid tools for dealing with emotions, including boredom, you can pull from them as needed, instead of turning to food each time you're seeking solace."

Drinking too much while self-isolating may not do your immune system any favors. Getty/Martin DM

First, Cassetty stated that "the safe limits are one drink a day for women and two for men but how you space your drinks out matters, too, so don't save all the drinks up for one or two nights."

While there's nothing wrong with drinking, it's essential to be aware of your actions. If consuming alcohol regularly is a way for you to relax, then Cassetty suggested looking into other ways to reduce stress such as meditation or listening to a soothing playlist. Also, drinking at night is a habit for many, so merely switching your scotch or brew for a herbal tea sustains the habit sans the alcohol.

For those who count their calories, adding alcohol into your daily intake is another way to regulate your consumption and keep your calories in check. Johnston recommends adding 35 grams of carbohydrates and 10 grams of fat for every 12-ounce IPA, and 10 grams of carbs and 10 grams of fat for every 12-ounce light beer, spiked seltzer, and a shot of liquor. Stick to these numbers, and you'll probably only have enough room for one or two drinks.

Read the rest here:
What to eat when working from home per nutrition experts - Insider - INSIDER

Kiwi Heath Benefits: This small fruit can offer you several health benefits

Kiwi is a small fruit loaded with several health benefits and flavours. It is a bright green coloured fruit that contains several vitamins and minerals. It is usually consumed raw which can also help you enjoy the nutritional value it offers. Kiwi is also used as an ingredient in many foods and drink in some places. From skin to digestion, it can offer you some amazing health benefits. It also has small edible black seeds. You can also prepare shakes and smoothies with this wonder fruit. Read on to know some notable health benefits of adding kiwi to your diet.

Kiwi fruit is loaded with fibre which ensures better digestion. It also contains actinidin which is a proteolytic enzyme that helps in breaking down protein. High fibre content can also prevent constipation.

High fibre content of kiwi can help you fight digestive issuesPhoto Credit: iStock

This fruit is also good for your skin. It is loaded with vitamin C which is one of the best vitamins which work wonders for your skin. Adding kiwi to your diet can help you boost skin health as well. Vitamin C helps in repairing skin and also keeps it hydrated.

Also read:Skin Care: 5 Anti-Ageing Foods For A Younger-Looking Skin

Another health benefit of adding kiwi to your diet is better sleep. A study conducted in 2011 has highlighted the effect of kiwifruit on sleep quality. It has shown positive results in those with sleep problems.

Also read:Can't Sleep At Night? Find Out If You Have Insomnia

4. Boosts heart health

Kiwi fruit is also good for your heart health. It contains anti-inflammatory properties, fibre and potassium which can boost heart health. It also controls factors that put you at a high risk of heart diseases like bad cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.

Kiwi fruit can also help you fight high blood pressurePhoto Credit: iStock

Presence of antioxidants and vitamin C can also help in asthma treatment. Adding fresh kiwi to diet is beneficial for asthma patients.

Vitamin C helps you boost immunity. It is suggested to add more foods loaded with vitamin C to your diet for better immunity.

Also read:Boost Your Immunity With These Amazing Sources Of Vitamin C; Know Other Health Benefit Of Vitamin C

Disclaimer: 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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Kiwi Fruit Health Benefits: Adding This Fruit To Your Diet Can Help You Boost Digestion, Heart Health, Immunity And Much More - NDTV News

What is your diet like?

In the morning, I'll eat a good, healthy breakfast. Usually it'll be scrambled eggs with turkey bacon. It's with soy, so it's not fatty. And then peppers, onions, spinach, and feta cheese.

I don't eat fast food, so if I have to stop somewhere for lunch or dinner, Ill find a deli where I can get a good sandwich. My favorite food, really, is the carne asada nachos that we have at Trejos, with two eggs on top. We have the best nachos in the world. I'll put those up against anybody. And theyre actually pretty healthy. They're gluten-free.

Youre very outspoken about how your restaurantsand your personal dietare all about food thats high-quality, organic, ethically sourced, and the like. What went into applying those ideas to a restaurant business?

I was doing a movie called Bad Ass, and if I didn't like what the food truck on set had, I would order food. Ash Shah, the producer, kinda jokingly said, "Hey, Danny, why don't you open a restaurant?" And, still joking, I said, "Yeah, Trejo's Tacos." Two movies later, he brought me a business plan.

For the menu we talked about vegan and vegetarian options, how everything's gonna be fresh, and you can bite into a cow if you want to. So we had all that covered. We have four menus: your regular menu, a vegan menu, a vegetarian menu, and a gluten-free menu. We make it really, really easy. We've gotta take care of each other, and we've gotta watch out for one another.

Have you been cooking your entire life?

Yeah, in one way or another. I just kind of did it. Necessity is the mother of invention. I was a single parent for a while, so I'd cook my kids breakfast in the morning, I'd pack them lunch, and then cook them dinner. A dinner I love is a couple chicken breasts with garlic and rice and veggies. I'm not big on desserts, but that's a pretty good meal. I wouldn't say I'm a health nut, but I've always tried to live healthy, and my kids' mom was a good cook. She always did a pretty balanced meal.

Do you still have access to all the food you like in quarantine?

I'm still eating the same thing, but all our restaurants now do just take-out and delivery. We have a few people around the restaurants who are disabled, so we deliver to them. We make a point to make sure they're eating.

Youve got a bunch of projects to juggle. On a day where you're not social distancing, how do you manage your time?

It was once told to me that a busy man has time to do everything. When we're not in isolation, I just do whatever's in front of me. I gotta go here, I gotta go there, I just go. I really believe that success depends on the people around you, and I've got some great people around me. Everything good that has happened to me has happened as a direct result of helping someone else.

Also, I love coffee. And Trejo's has the best coffee. I'm drinking our coffee right now.

Have you identified any specific ways to help people during the pandemic?

Right now what we're trying to do is partner with Angel Food. They pack up food, deliver it to anybody that needs ityou just call them, say, "Hey, we need food," and they'll deliver food to your door. It's so beautiful. We've worked with them for a while, so now we're trying to figure out how we can handle this crisis with them, because they go all over Los Angeles.

We're prioritizing getting food out because there are so many people that can't come out of their houses. I'm 75. I have two sons and a daughter. My son calls every day, I say, "I'm fine, I'm great, don't worry," but he'll come by, bring us masks, and if I had no kids or didn't have kids nearby and I lived alone, I would have to go to the market.

I think the government right now is trying to play catchup, because we didn't get on this thing right when we had to. A lot of people at the top didn't take it seriously. So now it's up to us.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Real-Life Diet is a series in which GQ talks to athletes, celebrities, and everyone in-between about their diets and exercise routines: what's worked, what hasn't, and where they're still improving. Keep in mind, what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.

The NFL star's figuring out how to keep up his unorthodox workouts in a world of social distancing.

Original post:
The Real-Life Diet of Danny Trejo, Who's Banging Out Two-a-Days In Isolation - GQ

Though self-isolating is the best way to protect against COVID-19, being stuck at home can lead to some unhealthy behaviors, including overeating due to stress and boredom.

While taking comfort in food during times of stress is a normal reaction, overeating regularly can negatively affect your health and increase your stress and anxiety levels.

Here are 13 ways to prevent stress eating when youre stuck at home.

Its important to differentiate stress eating from disordered eating practices. If you feel that you have disordered eating tendencies, these tips are not appropriate for your needs.

For information on eating disorder treatment and additional support, contact the National Eating Disorders Association Helpline.

One of the most helpful ways to prevent overeating is to understand why its happening in the first place. There are many reasons why you may be compelled to overeat, including being stressed out or bored.

If you find yourself eating too frequently or eating too much in one sitting, take a minute and check in with yourself. First, its important to determine whether youre eating because youre hungry and need nourishment, or whether theres another reason.

Before you eat, pay special attention to how youre feeling, such as stressed, bored, lonely, or anxious. Simply pausing and evaluating the situation can help you understand what compels you to overeat and may help prevent overeating in the future.

That said, combating overeating is rarely easy, and you may have to seek professional help, especially if its a common occurrence or you eat to the point of discomfort and experience feelings of shame or guilt afterward. These may be signs of disordered eating (1).

Though having a jar of cookies or bowl of colorful candy on the counter may add to the visual appeal of your kitchen, this practice may lead to overeating.

Having tempting foods within eyesight can lead to frequent snacking and overeating, even when you arent hungry.

Research has shown that visual exposure to high calorie foods stimulates the striatum, a part of your brain that modulates impulse control, which may lead to increased cravings and overeating (2, 3, 4).

For this reason, its best to keep particularly tempting foods, including sugary baked goods, candy, chips, and cookies, out of sight, such as in a pantry or cupboard.

To be clear, theres nothing wrong with enjoying a tasty treat occasionally, even when youre not necessarily hungry. However, overindulging too often can harm both your physical and mental health (5).

You shouldnt change your normal eating schedule just because youre stuck at home. If youre used to having three meals a day, try to continue that schedule while youre working from home. The same goes for if you typically consume only two meals and a snack.

Though its easy to stray from your normal dietary pattern when your day-to-day schedule gets disrupted, its important to maintain some semblance of normalcy when it comes to eating.

You may find yourself adapting your eating pattern to accommodate your new normal, and thats OK. Just try to maintain a regular eating pattern based on your individual needs and your preferred eating times.

If youre really thrown off and find yourself constantly snacking, try making a schedule that includes at least two solid meals per day and following it until you feel that you have become comfortably consistent with your eating habits.

One of the most important nutrition rules to follow to prevent overeating is to not deprive your body of food. Oftentimes, being overly restrictive with food intake or consuming too few calories can lead to binging on high calorie foods and overeating (6, 7, 8).

Its never a good idea to follow a highly restrictive diet or deprive yourself of food, especially during stressful times.

Research has shown that restrictive dieting is not only ineffective for long-term weight loss but also can harm your physical and mental health and increase your stress levels (9, 10, 11).

Some good things come along with being stuck at home. Not having the option to eat out at restaurants makes you cook more meals yourself, which has been shown to improve overall health.

For example, a study in 11,396 people found that eating home-cooked meals more frequently was associated with a greater intake of fruits and vegetables.

Plus, it found that people who ate home-cooked meals more than 5 times per week were 28% less likely to be overweight and 24% less likely to have excess body fat, compared with those who ate home-cooked meals less than 3 times per week (12).

Whats more, planning your meals a few days ahead can help you kill time and has even been shown to improve diet quality and reduce obesity risk (13).

Being stuck at home gives you more time to focus on healthy habits, including drinking enough fluids. Maintaining proper hydration is important for overall health and may help you prevent overeating related to stress.

In fact, research has found an association between chronic dehydration and an elevated risk of obesity. Plus, being dehydrated can lead to alterations in mood, attention, and energy levels, which can also affect your eating habits (14, 15).

To combat dehydration, add a few slices of fresh fruit to your water to boost its flavor, which may help you drink more water throughout the day without adding a significant amount of sugar or number of calories to your diet.

Being stuck at home can take a serious toll on your activity levels, leading to boredom, stress, and increased snacking frequency. To combat this, make some time for daily physical activity.

If youre feeling lost due to the closing of your favorite gym or workout studio, try something new like a home workout on YouTube, taking a hike in nature, or simply walking or jogging around your neighborhood.

Research has shown that physical activity can boost mood and reduce stress, which may reduce your chances of stress eating (16).

When you suddenly find yourself with a lot of extra free time, boredom can quickly set in once you have tackled your to-do list for the day.

However, boredom can be prevented by making good use of your spare time. Everyone has hobbies that they have always wanted to try or projects that have been put off due to busy schedules.

Now is the perfect time to learn a new skill, tackle a home improvement project, organize your living spaces, take an educational course, or start a new hobby.

Learning something new or starting a project can not only prevent boredom but also likely make you feel more accomplished and less stressed.

Modern-day life is full of distractions. From smartphones to televisions to social media, youre surrounded by technology meant to distract you from your daily life.

Though catching up on a favorite TV show can help take your mind off of stressful events, its important to minimize distractions when eating a meal or snack, especially if you find yourself frequently overeating.

If youre used to dining while parked in front of your television, smartphone, or computer, try eating in a less distracting environment. Attempt to concentrate only on your food, paying special attention to feelings of hunger and fullness.

Being more present while you eat may help prevent overeating and can help you become more aware of your eating patterns and food intake (17).

Mindful eating is an excellent tool that can be used to bring more awareness to your eating habits.

Check out our 21-day mindful eating challenge here.

Its common for people to snack on foods directly from the containers in which they were sold, which may lead to overeating.

For example, grabbing a pint of ice cream from the freezer and eating directly from the container rather than doling out a single portion in a dish may cause you to eat more than you intended (18).

To combat this, practice portion control by serving yourself a single portion of food rather than eating out of larger containers.

Stocking your kitchen with filling, nutrient-dense foods can not only help improve your overall health but also combat the tendency to stress eat highly palatable foods.

For example, filling your fridge and pantry with foods that can help fill you up in a healthful way rather than foods rich in empty calories like candy, chips, and soda is a smart way to prevent the chances of noshing on unhealthy choices.

Filling foods are ones that are high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Nuts, seeds, avocados, beans, and eggs are just some examples of nutritious, satisfying choices that can help fill you up and prevent overeating (19).

While a glass of wine or tasty cocktail can be a relaxing way to unwind, keep in mind that alcohol lowers your inhibitions, increases appetite, and may increase the chances of overeating (20).

Plus, drinking too much alcohol harms your health in a number of ways and can lead to dependence issues (21).

Try to stay within the guidelines set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which suggests that alcoholic beverages be limited to one drink per day or less for women and two or fewer drinks per day for men (22).

During stressful times, its more important than ever to keep your overall health in mind. Eating nutritious foods is just one part of keeping yourself healthy and happy.

Practicing self-compassion and doing the best that you can given the current circumstances is whats most important.

This is not the time to restrict, overexercise, try a fad diet, compare yourself to others, or focus on weaknesses. If youre struggling with insecurities, body image issues, or anxiety, use this time to foster a new, healthy relationship with your mind and body.

Given the current circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, you may find yourself stuck at home and feeling stressed and bored, which may increase your chances of overeating.

While indulging in comfort foods occasionally, especially during times of stress, is completely normal, overeating regularly can take a toll on your physical and mental health.

The evidence-based tips above may help you control stress eating and improve many other aspects of your health as well.

Continued here:
13 Ways to Prevent Stress Eating When You're Stuck at Home - Healthline

As part of the global response to the pandemic, the citizens of many countries are having to stay at home. However, prolonged isolation can take its toll on mental health. In this Special Feature, mental well-being advocates share their top tips on what you can do to cope with anxiety and stress while stuck at home.

In a press briefing on March 26, 2020, officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) discussed the challenges that the world is facing in terms of mental and psychological health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Physical distancing and isolation measures, [and] the closure of schools and workplaces, are particularly [challenging for] us, as they affect what we love to do, where we want to be, and who we want to be with, said Dr. Hans Kluge, the WHOs regional director for Europe, in his opening remarks.

It is absolutely natural for each of us to feel stress, anxiety, fear, and loneliness during this time. At [the] WHO, we consider [effects on] our mental health [and] psychological well-being as being very important consequences of COVID-19, he added.

Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.

As people all around the world find themselves working from home or being home-schooled unable to travel even down the street to visit friends or family staying mentally healthy could become increasingly difficult for many.

So what can individuals, as well as society at large, do to preserve mental well-being and cope with stressors such as anxiety and loneliness?

To find out, Medical News Today have reached out to two mental health advocates: business neurolinguistic programming practitioner and mental health trainer Tania Diggory, founder and director of Calmer, and mental health first aider and coach Kat Hounsell, founder of everyday people.

This Special Feature presents some best practice tips for maintaining good mental health that Diggory and Hounsell suggested, as well as the official advice offered by experts from the WHO.

Working from home may seem like the dream set-up for some, as it offers the possibility to tap into that latent creativity from the comfort of a cozy, familiar environment.

However, it can also bring a unique set of challenges especially as an enforced measure.

While [being able to work from home] can empower and up-level our working life, if taken to the extreme, we end up being switched on the whole time, Diggory told MNT.

In many cases, the boundaries between home life and work life can become blurred, and these boundaries are what enable us to stay healthy and well, she cautioned.

In an enforced work from home situation, people may end up continuously sharing a space with other family members, and they may start to feel as though they have to attend to both domestic tasks and work assignments at the same time.

This blending of home and work life may also lead to working longer hours than usual.

People may [] fall into a pattern of overworking, a sense or feeling that they should be working long hours, to show colleagues that they are being productive even though no-one can physically see them working, said Diggory.

So, how can people address these challenges and reduce the amount of stress that comes with working exclusively from a home environment?

Firstly, accept that stress levels will likely be higher for many at this time whatever youre feeling is valid considering the current context, said Hounsell.

That is why, [w]hen working from home, prioritizing your mindset and well-being at the start of the day is essential, Diggory told us.

One helpful way to set boundaries so that a person does not become overwhelmed with competing tasks is to create a physical space that is for work only, where the person will not face non-work-related disruptions and interruptions.

Where possible, it is worth designating a space that is yours for work only. This separation can support you physically and mentally, and help get you into the appropriate headspace each time you settle in to work.

Tania Diggory

If you live with family, a partner, or housemates, you could [] [have] a chat with them about what boundaries you need to put in place in order to ensure a healthy and productive mindset, she suggested.

She also said that people who share their homes with others may actually be able to benefit from the situation by co-opting family or housemates to actively help them stay on track.

For instance, Diggory said, If you struggle to take breaks throughout the day, you could use living with others to your advantage perhaps ask for their help in encouraging you to take time away from your desk at lunch or for a mid-morning/afternoon break.

Cooperation is key, Hounsell agreed. Be kind and patient with yourself and those around you, she advised.

She also stressed the importance of maintaining other healthful habits such as eating regularly and sticking to a healthful diet because these are, in themselves, a cornerstone of mental health.

When planning your day, schedule in eating regular nutritious meals, [] renew through exercise, make time to connect with others, and maintain good sleep hygiene, Hounsell emphasized.

She also mentioned the importance of maintaining good communication with both housemates and work colleagues at this time.

Be open with your plans with those you live with and your team have clear boundaries with your non-negotiables, and be open to flexibility where your schedule may need to adapt to support someone else, she added.

There are also adjustments that employers can make to ensure that their employees do not hit burnout mode in record time while working from home.

Hounsell said that there are a few questions that employers should ask themselves if they want to help their employees maintain their well-being and remain productive.

These questions are:

If the answer to any of these questions is no, employers should aim to address these issues to support their employees in achieving an adequate work mindset away from the office.

Hounsell also advised [r]egular check-ins and signposting to supports available, so that everyones well-being is being nurtured on a daily basis, as well as [opening] a feedback loop to address any communication challenges that may appear due to the remote work setting.

Another possible stumbling block when a person has to work from home for long periods of time is effectively getting out of that work mindset once work is done for the day.

That can be tricky, especially if the person does not have access to their usual signals that work is over such as their commute from the office, a regular pitstop at the mall after work, or a quick session at the gym.

In speaking to MNT, Diggory suggested that one way of marking the end of the work day though this could also apply to ending a study period, for example is to set up something akin to the school bell.

Try using an alarm to signal the end of your working day choosing the hour, or even the minute, that you can press the off button, put down your pen, and leave the home office, she suggested.

Bookending the start and end of the working day with suggestive activities might also help.

[P]lan a simple short ritual you look forward to in order to check-in and check-out of your working day, Hounsell advised.

It could be anything, like starting the day with a cup of tea and 10 minutes [of] journaling learnings from yesterday, or hopes for today. Then, your check-out could be a short scheduled call with a colleague, friend, [or] family member to share your evening plans, she suggested.

[P]lanning enjoyable things to do in the evenings can be a nice reward for all your hard work, and something to look forward to each day, Diggory noted.

However, Hounsell also advised our readers to go easy on themselves, should this strategy not work perfectly every time.

[D]ont beat yourself up if work starts bleeding into the evening just stop, she said. Stop, take a breath, observe whats happening with kindness, and proceed with intention into the next part of your evening.

Research has shown that loneliness is one of the worlds most significant risk factors for premature death. If this is such a huge problem (at the best of times), what happens now that many peoples freedom of movement is severely limited?

In the press briefing from March 26, 2020, Dr. Aiysha Malik the WHOs technical officer within the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse noted that some of the people most at risk of experiencing an increased sense of loneliness and anxiety are older individuals, as well as those already living with mental health issues.

To cope with loneliness while in (relative) physical isolation, Dr. Malik said that there are some basic strategies that [the WHO are] advocating across the population, such as taking part in some [form of] physical activity, keeping to routines or creating new ones, engaging in activities [that] give a sense of achievement [] and, importantly, really maintaining social connections.

Although staying connected may be more difficult now than ever before, Dr. Malik points out that now is the time to explore the full potential of digital technologies in helping us stay in touch with our loved ones.

In speaking to MNT, Diggory agreed with this perspective. As much as an overuse of digital technology can be detrimental to our well-being, we are truly fortunate to be living in the digital age, where its never been so easy to stay connected with the people who matter to us most.

Where possible, she said, video calls are essential; [they help] to give that illusion of proximity and feel like the person or people youre talking to are nearby.

Also, throughout the virtual press briefing, Dr. Malik repeatedly emphasized the importance of sticking to old routines and creating new ones. This, she explained, can help give structure to our daily lives at a time when our normal activities are disrupted.

Once again, Diggory agreed:

Routine is [] very important for well-being, so if youre living by yourself, write a list of the people and activities that lift your spirits; be sure to prioritize time for connecting with others and doing things you enjoy every day.

For those who live on their own and are finding that enforced isolation has hit them hard, Diggory also suggested [considering] the things you enjoy doing by yourself, yet havent had time to dedicate to them.

[W]hat books do you like to read? What self-care routine can you put in place to support your mind and body? What nutritious foods can you cook to boost your immune system?

People should ask themselves these questions and try to take this unexpected time to themselves to focus on aspects of their lives that they may not have paid very much attention to before.

In the press briefing from March 26, 2020, the WHO officials also talked about how people may start experiencing increased levels of anxiety during this uncertain time.

Dr. Kluge said that [o]ur anxieties and fears should be acknowledged, and not ignored, but better understood and addressed by individuals, communities, and governments.

The issue, making all of us nervous, is how we mange and react to stressful situations unfolding so rapidly in our lives and communities, he continued. He then shared a few personal strategies for coping with stress and anxiety:

Personally, I am trying to stick to what has worked for me in the past when I want to be calm for example, learning and practicing simple relaxation techniques, like breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, mindfulness, [and] meditation, [which] can all be very helpful in alleviating mental distress.

When MNT spoke with Diggory, she also suggested that practices such as mindfulness and meditation can help relieve anxious thoughts.

One of the key factors of experiencing anxiety is a sense of feeling out of control, she explained. However, [t]he practices of mindfulness and meditation have been scientifically proven to reduce stress and anxiety, and when practiced regularly, can help you feel more in control of your own state.

Were not always able to control external circumstances; however, we can learn to cultivate [healthful] habits where we feel in control of our personal well-being, and exercises such as meditative breathing [are] an example of this.

Tania Diggory

Diggory went on to explain that since the start of the pandemic, there has been an increase in online wellness classes, which people can easily join from the comfort of their own homes.

Hounsell also stressed the fact that online classes and other resources are bringing fun and relaxing activities straight into peoples homes.

What has been so amazing to witness is the booming wealth of online resources to support [people]. You can go on virtual art gallery tours, watch videos of theater and dance online, have video dinner dates with friends (this one comes tried and tested from me), online pub quizzes, live-streamed yoga and workouts, [and] even The Open University has released a multitude of free courses for keeping learning such an opportunity to get creative, she said.

And, she added, whats really great is [that] we can also reconnect with those hobbies and relaxation techniques that dont require a screen reading, taking a bath, gardening, listening to music, playing music, journaling, writing, arts and crafts, cooking new recipes, [] stroking your pet, daydreaming so much to savor and enjoy.

In turn, the WHO regional director for Europe also spoke of the importance of engaging in earnest communication at this time.

I myself I also try and acknowledge upsetting thoughts when they occur, and discuss them with people around me. They are likely to have them, too, and we may be better able to find solutions collectively, he said.

Hounsell made a similar point when she spoke to MNT. She emphasized that we should all try to check in with each other and practice our sense of empathy.

Looking out for one another [] and checking in regularly to spot signs of stress or mental health issues evolving could have a lasting impact, she suggested.

Here at MNT, we have already put together numerous resources to support our readers in their quest for holistic well-being.

Following on from the advice presented above, here is a list of existing features from our website that we think our readers may find helpful at this time:

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

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Expert tips on coping with stress and anxiety during a pandemic - Medical News Today