Category Archives: Diet And Food

A trial industrial hemp crop in Western Australia. Image DPIRD.

AUSTRALIAN researchers might know by the end of this year whether industrial hemp has potential or problems as a feed source for sheep.

A new research project backed by the Western Australian McGowan Government will examine the potential for hemp as a feed source for sheep.

Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan announced the project at the Australian Industrial Hemp Conference in Fremantle late last month.

Ms MacTiernans office said interest is growing in the industrial hemp industry, due to the crops versatility for a range of end products spanning from food and oil, to textiles, paper, building materials and fuel.

The Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, in collaboration with ChemCentre WA and Charles Sturt University, will lead the research project to test the nutritional value of hemp as a summer grazing option for sheep. The trials are planned for WA and New South Wales, and will examine the meat quality of sheep on a hemp diet.

The research aims to enhance understanding around potential transfer of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to meat products, to determine if hemp can be safely used as a feed source for food producing animals. THC or tetrahydrocannabinol is the main psychoactive compound in marijuana that gives the high sensation to users. However, industrial hemp varieties contain lower THC levels than cannabis grown to produce marijuana for medical or recreational use. The low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) variety ofCannabis sativa, has been identified as a high-yielding (5-15t biomass/ha, 0.6-1.2t seed/ha).

Meat products supplied for human consumption in WA are not permitted to contain detectable levels of THC, with similar restrictions affecting the use of hemp as feed across Australia and a number of other countries. The project also has funding support from research partners and industry partner St Francis Group.

An industrial hemp crop in Western Australia. Image DPIRD.

Livestock research and development director for WAs Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development Dr Bruce Mullan said industrial hemp has been grown around Australia for some time.

But current regulations restrict grazing livestock because of the THC content.

Current regulation in Australia restricts grazing livestock on hemp crops due to lack of data on the accumulation of THC in animal tissues. The research project aims to provide preliminary data on sheep fed industrial hemp biomass at varying doses. Two experiments will measure THC metabolism, excretion, storage and clearance, digestibility, stress response, animal performance and meat quality.

So as a crop it has been grown for other purposes, but there is still an opportunity there for it to be used for livestock.

And if we dont have guidelines then people will start using it without approval probably, so we have got to provide some basic information, Dr Mullan said.

Dr Mullan said the initial trial work will look at the nutrient value of hemp for sheep.

But it will also look at THC excretion and accumulation; is it going just into the fat or is it going into the meat, what is the turnover?

Sheep will be fed pellets with various levels of hemp and then the excretion and accumulation of THC will be measured.

The hemp is being grown now, so it will be harvested in the next month or so and the trial work will happen and be completed by the end of this year.

WAs Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the hemp industry is growing fast in WA, with hemp licences doubling over the past two years.

There are more than 70 commercial crops and seven hemp research plot trials this season, using 22 hemp varieties.

Research, such as the new livestock trials announced today, is vital to help fill information gaps and give growers, processors and innovators the knowledge to take this industry to the next level.

The McGowan Government has provided grants worth more than $400,000 to industry over the past 15 months to support hemp research, development and processing.

Link:
WA and NSW researchers not sheepish on hemp research - Sheep Central

Plastic bottles are everywhere. Thats right! Everywhere you go, you see them. They are cheap. You dont have to pay anything to get one with your drink and you dont need a replacement to carry one home. They have made our lives convenient, why lie. There was a time when to buy a bottle of soda you had to go to the shop with a replacement bottle or be prepared to pay extra (deposit). Well, plastic happened and those days are now well tucked away in distant memory. The millennials may not even be aware that we once lived through that era.Plastic, especially the single use variety, revolutionised the packaging industry. Most importantly, it turned our shopping experience on its head. The convenience of plastic, however, came with a price. A steep one, I must add. That is a bit of an oxymoron, quite evidently. How can something so cheap come with a steep price? Here is why.Plastic, as you may have observed, clogs street drains. This is a very common sight in Nairobi and other towns across Kenya. Sometimes we wonder how so many plastic bottles got into storm drainage. Besides being unsightly, they cause flooding during the rainy season. Floods destroy roads and peoples livelihoods. They sweep away houses, cars, trees, animals and people. They generally complicate life in urban neighbourhoods, making it difficult for people to get to their jobs or access their homes.

SEE ALSO :In Norway, bottles made of plastic are still fantastic

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Let us strive to reduce plastic bottle pollution - Standard Digital

If youve got a little one on the way, or are thinking about adding to your family soon, youre probably already focusing on your babys health and nourishment (#momlife). Which brings the conversation to your own nutrition: What if you are looking to lose weight before getting pregnant and want to try a diet of the moment, such as intermittent fasting (IF)? Or maybe you're curious about it's purported longevity or blood sugar benefits.

Whatever the reason is behind your IF interest, you might be curious about how to maintain those eating patterns during your actual pregnancy. Or, perhaps you just found out youre pregnant and want to know the safest way to continue or wean yourself off of a fasting diet.

Yep, these are questions and concerns that docs and prenatal nutritionists hear from expectant mamas these days, given all the hype surrounding fasting diets right now. So here's the lowdown on intermittent fasting for pregnant womenwith input from Jennifer Wu, MD, an ob-gyn at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, and Nicole German Morgan, RDN, LD, CLT, a dietitian with a background in prenatal nutrition.

And, as always, experts advise you to always check in with your health-care provider before making any dietary changes, especially if youre newly pregnant or planning to get pregnant.

Generally, fasting isnt recommended for pregnant women. While research shows that intermittent fasting can benefit metabolism, lead to weight loss, and may potentially reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, it can actually lower a pregnant womans blood sugar too much. Low blood sugar in combination with the natural drop in blood pressure in pregnant women could lead to lightheadedness and fainting, says Dr. Wu.

An older study that focused on religious intermittent fasting in pregnant women (with healthy pregnancies) found that fetal movement was lower when mothers were fasting. This makes sense, because her glucose levels would be low, and fetal movement is tied to how much glucose (aka an energy source for the bod) the fetus is able to get from the mother. That's why most religious fasting gives an exemption to pregnant women, Dr. Wu adds.

So, intense fasting is a no-go for pregnant women (more on that later). But the only type of fasting that may be safe for women who arent too far along in pregnancy is an overnight fast, for about 12 hours maximum. But, even doing a 12-hour fast depends on the trimester, explains Morgan.

During the early stages of the first trimester, its of course essential to focus on consuming enough important prenatal nutrients, but your body may not need that many more additional calories than your normal intake. In the third trimester, and the later stages of the second trimester, intermittent fasting may not be appropriate at allmany women will require an additional evening snack prior to bedtime, or need to eat quickly upon waking, Morgan explains.

You need to make sure that you are getting enough of the essential nutrients as well as calories (many pregnant women are advised to add about 300 extra calories a day), especially if you start out your pregnancy underweight or even at normal weight, so restricting your eating may not be the right solution, she adds.

If youre early on in the pregnancy, doing a modified version of intermittent fasting, by fasting overnight for about 12 hours (as mentioned) would be your only moderately safe option. According to Morgan, this would involve fasting from about 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. at night to 7 p.m. or 8 a.m. the next morning, which might be your normal eating schedule anyway.

But, you dont want to cram too many calories into a short period of time, as that isnt healthy for digestion, or miss out on calories necessary to nourish the baby by spacing out your eating too much, she points out. The other popular versions of IF schedulesthe 16:8 diet (where you eat within an eight-hour window), the 5:2 method, which involves eating normally five days a week and pulling back on calorie intake substantially two days a week, or alternate-day fastingshould all be off-limits, as theyre too extreme for any pregnant women.

Eating schedules are really different for everyone. But Dr. Wu generally recommends eating more frequently when you're pregnant instead, with small meals about every two to three hours, especially during the first trimester, when morning sickness is prevalent and you may not be in the mood to eat a huge meal at one time. This also helps to keep the blood sugar steady in the second and third trimesters, Dr. Wu says.

But for patients who struggle with heartburn during pregnancy, Dr. Wu suggests stopping eating about four hours before going to sleep to allow more time for digestion, since heartburn may be worse once you lie down in bed. If you follow those guidelines, you may not tend to eat until breakfast upon waking up, so it is actually somewhat similar to an IF schedule.

Yep, you want to eat more frequently, without large chunks of time without nutrients. Here's why: Eating more frequently helps keep your blood sugar and blood pressureand the babysstable. To promote more [weight] maintenance and less weight loss, it may be smart to widen your window of eating in order to be able to consume a more balanced diet, Morgan says.

Believe it or not, if youre trying for a baby, IF could help in some circumstances. If patients are overweight or obese, they may have irregular cycles and trouble ovulating, which can make it tough to get pregnant. So following an IF diet (which typically means you'll be restricting your calorie intake) may yield weight loss, and in turn, improve fertility.

For example: Women with polycystic ovary syndromeor PCOS, which often disrupts metabolism, the menstrual cycle, and ovulationmay encounter fertility issues. But, as one study showed, losing weight (by reducing calorie intake generally by 500 to 1,000 calories per day) may help overweight women with PCOS produce luteinizing hormone, and in turn, ovulate more regularly (and therefore get pregnant more easily). Dr. Wu asserts that IF is fine for weight loss, but that you should stop dieting upon finding out that youre pregnant.

On the other end of the spectrum, if youre underweight, continuing to restrict your eating and calorie intake can be detrimental to fertility. In extreme cases, intermittent fasting and losing weight may actually adversely affect fertility as patients may stop menstruating and ovulating, Dr. Wu says. Morgan adds that eating less frequently while practicing IF can put the body under high stress, which is not helpful when it comes to getting pregnant. The most important point for fertility is to nourish the body in a balanced way, and not to let the body feel as if it is under stress, says Morgan.

In short, no. Weight loss is, in general, not a thing you want to focus on at all during pregnancy. So you want to speak to your doctor about potentially terminating a particular diet you're on to make sure you're approaching pregnancy safely for you and the baby.

During pregnancy, it's more about staying at a healthy weight, or not gaining too much weight during the pregnancy if youre overweight. If patients are overweight or obese when they become pregnant, the recommendation is to gain less weight, around 15 to 20 pounds, depending on the weight of the patient, Dr. Wu says.

Eating more frequently helps keep your blood sugar and blood pressureand the babysstable.

But even if the patient is overweight, or develops gestational diabetes during pregnancy, for instance, fasting still isnt the answer, because it could interfere with any blood sugar-regulating medication the patient is on, she notes.

Of course, there are many factors that can impact your weight during pregnancy, and it also depends on the trimester youre in. For example, its normal for women to drop a few pounds during the first trimester from morning sickness, nausea, or even hyperemesis gravidarum. It's not a good idea to lose any weight at all during the second or third trimester, Morgan says. But ultimately the advised amount of weight gain during pregnancy depends on the patient and is something you should discuss at length with your doctor so that you feel informed and comfortable.

The bottom line: Nutrition during pregnancy is highly individualized to the person, how high-risk the pregnancy is, and the prior health conditions of the motherafter all, no one persons body or metabolism is the same. Before trying any new diet or changing your eating habits, its important to check in with your healthcare provider to ensure that its safe and sustainable for you to continue throughout pregnancy.

Read more:
Is Intermittent Fasting While Pregnant Safe? - Everything To Know - Women's Health

Heart disease is the single biggest killer in Scotland. It acts as a huge burden on the NHS, with someone in Scotland being admitted to hospital due to a heart attack every 50 minutes. It causes daily devastation, with coronary heart disease causing around 18 deaths every day.

New research and innovative technologies are in place and advancing every day to help combat the issue with a strong focus on continuing to build on vital research, preventing heart diseases from developing, and ensuring that those with existing conditions live longer, better lives.

In recent years, significant progress has been made to reduce death rates, thanks to these advances in diagnosis, treatment and care of coronary problems.

Sixty years ago, seven in 10 people who had a heart attack in this country didnt survive. Now, seven in 10 people whove had a heart attack return home to their families.

Those who do safely return can act as ambassadors for the prevention of heart disease.

Known as secondary prevention, those who have suffered a problem a small heart attack for example then use this scare to take action, reassessing their diet and exercise.

The oil and gas industry, particularly those offshore, is made up of an ageing workforce.

Cardiac problems are no stranger to these workers. Although many return to work with a new mindset inspired by secondary prevention a huge number also arent given this second chance at life.

Preventing coronary artery disease is largely about controlling the risk factors.

Ideally, prevention habits start early, but they remain important all through life. Its never too late to change, though the earlier in life you do so, the greater the advantage.Smart steps to take include:

Ditch the cigarettes. Smoking is considered one of the key risk factors in causing heart attacks. It makes the walls of your arteries sticky from the chemicals, so fatty material can stick to them. If the arteries that carry blood to your heart get damaged and clogged, it can lead to a heart attack. Not much better is passive smoking. So whenever possible, steer clear of second-hand smoke.

Eat better. Aim for an eating plan thats low in saturated and trans fats and high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. The fats found in olive oil and fish, those high in fibre (found in plant foods), and treats low in salt and sugar will also keep your heart healthier for longer.

Keep active. A good goal is at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise each week. Aim to be active for 30 minutes a day, most days of the week. Adding in walks over lunch, and opting for the stairs instead of the lift can help promote this. Simple steps, big differences.

Be mindful. Some stress is unavoidable in life but it tends to push us towards the bad stuff that can lead to heart problems (overeating, drinking, lazing too much). Consider your mental health as well as your heart health and your body will thank you for it. Try using exercise or mediation to relax.

Dr Stuart Scott is medical director at Iqarus

Read more here:
At the heart of the matter - News for the Oil and Gas Sector - Energy Voice

Cant seem to keep that weight off? Youre not alone, say University of Alberta health experts who suggest weight loss shouldnt be the primary motivation behind healthy lifestyle changes.

Obesity expert Arya Sharma said there is a growing body of research showing that upwards of 95 per cent of those who achieve any sort of meaningful weight loss will pack it back on, and then some, within a couple of years.

Why does maintaining weight loss have such a grim outlook? Sharma said its because you cant fight biology.

In fact, biology will fight you, and fight you very effectively.

He explained that as we gain weight, our bodys biology changes and will actually start defending that higher body weight as the new normal, regardless of how you put it on.

Sharma said the brain has a whole bag of tricks at its disposal, with the sole purpose of trying to get you to eatbeginning with increasing appetite and heightening taste and smell.

As you start eating less, your body senses there's not enough calories coming in, and you start having cravings, he said. In fact, you might even find food that you normally don't likehigh-caloric foodwill actually seem much more attractive to you.

The next strategy your body employs to combat any substantial weight loss is to reduce the amount of calories it burns.

If there's not enough calories coming in, the body turns down the thermostat, he said. Thats why people who lose weight often complain of feeling cold.

And if that werent enough, Sharma said that in the face of reduced calories, the body gets more fuel-efficient, able to cut calorie consumption during physical activity.

That's the big difference between biology and physics. If you look at your car, you can't teach your car to run on less fuel, but you can train your body to run on less fuel and you can become more fuel-efficientit's an adaptive system.

When those three things are taken togetherincreasing appetite and burning fewer calories at rest and at playalong with genetics and the fact that most of us have a finite amount of willpower, Sharma said it doesnt matter what exercise program you follow or which diet you implementyour body's going to want those calories back.

I liken it to pulling on a rubber band. You lose the weight and now you're pulling on this rubber band, and you have to keep pulling. The minute you let go, it's just going to snap back. Thats what makes long-term weight loss so difficult.

Sharma said because weight loss and weight maintenance carry on basically forever, obesity needs to be treated as a chronic disease.

When you have diabetes, and you need to follow a diet and take your insulin, you need to follow your diet and take insulin forever. Its the same thing.

He added the treatments that work best in the long term are the ones that fight this biology, such as bariatric surgery and medications that can block the adaptive responses of the body.

The body can still fight it, which is why there are some people who have bariatric surgery or who take the medication and then go off, who still end up putting the weight back on, said Sharma.

That just tells you how powerful those mechanisms can be.

According to Kim Raine, an obesity researcher in the School of Public Health, we are unwittingly helping our nature to gain weight with a seismic shift in the last 40 or so years in our environment.

We may be eating more than we used to and we may be less physically active than before, but it's not generally our choice to do thatit's that our environment has changed significantly, she said.

For instance, the ability to have food at our beck and call has increased exponentially in the last number of years. About a decade ago, Raines lab did an assessment of the relative amount of fast food and convenience stores compared with grocery stores in the city of Edmonton. They used fast food and convenience stores as a proxy for unhealthy high-calorie food, and grocery stores as a proxy for where you at least have the option of getting something healthier.

They counted 61 grocery stores and 761 fast food and convenience stores.

We've got this exposure to food like we've never had beforethat's the physical environment.

Perhaps even more invasive than the availability of food is the constant bombardment of messages promoting unhealthy food. Raine noted that marketers of unhealthy foods and beverages spend more money in three days than governments trying to promote healthy eating spend in a year.

And then we expect the nutrition education campaign that says eat your vegetables to counteract that. It doesn't make a lot of sense.

The uptick in motorized transportation means we don't walk anywhere anymore, and even well-meaning policies aimed at giving people greater access and increased choice to schools might be having a deleterious effect on physical activity.

Raine suggested open boundary policies that allow students to attend the school of their choice no matter where they live might be helping to drive the obesity epidemic too, as many kids are no longer walking to their neighbourhood school.

Because even if we work out an hour a day, it doesn't necessarily make up for what you would have walking back and forth to school or work four times, she said.

It's not a single one of those pieces that causes the problem, its when you add them all up.

While schools themselves do their best to teach kids about nutrition, Raine said students can walk out into the hallway to find a vending machine filled with high-calorie junk food.

We're fighting against an environment that is really pushing us to consume more and to be less active, she said. We need to move beyond trying to teach people to cope with the environment, and change the environment.

Raine said it can start in school. The U of A-led APPLE Schools program promotes the value of healthy eating and physical activity, but these programs need to be mandatory and need to be better funded.

Restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy food and beverages to children would also help, Raine said. Such restrictions have been in place in Quebec since 1980, and research shows those children consume significantly less fast food and have lower obesity rates.

She said subsidizing healthier foods and taxing high-sodium, high-sugar foods would also help, but added no one thing is going to solve the problem.

We can learn from successes in tobacco control. Raising taxes, restricting access to minors or eliminating advertisingeach one of those things individually did not make major changes to tobacco use, but collectively they changed the culture and denormalized tobacco use.

As for what we can do, health law and policy researcher Timothy Caulfield recommends steering clear of fad diets.

These diets gain traction because people do lose weight. But theyre losing weight because they pay attention to what they're eating for a little while, he said.

One thing I often say to people is, Can you name a single diet that worked long-term? If that existed, we would know.

He said what frustrates him most is that almost all of the marketing and pop-culture references to diet and exercise are tied to weight loss and aesthetics.

The best diet is the diet that works for you, is sustainable, is healthy and is enjoyable. If it's not enjoyable, it's not going to be sustainable.

U of A nutrition expert Sabina Valentine said one of the problems with fad diets is they often target foods we need, like protein, fat and carbohydrates.

I don't want people going out and eating loads and loads of fat, which happens in the keto diet. In moderate amountsperhaps 30 per cent of your dietfat contributes to a healthy diet.

Same with carbohydrates, which Valentine said have got a bad rap in the last decade, largely because of sugar.

Here are all these people avoiding carbohydrates, but they contain fibre, which plays an important role not only for decreasing health riskslike cancer and heart diseasebut also for making you feel full.

Rather than restrictive fad diets, Valentine said healthy eating should focus on making common-sense decisions and not being too hard on yourself after enjoying dessert at a party, for instance.

Learning how to include some of those yummy things in your diet kind of gives you that stick-to-itiveness, she said.

More:
Why losing weight isn't the right reason to adopt a healthier lifestyle - Folio - University of Alberta

You might have thought you kissed acne goodbye when you left your teens. Not so fast.Breakouts can still strike when youre in your 30s, 40s and 50s. Youre not even off the hook if you were a lucky teen who escaped this growing pain, as adult-onset acne can happenyears later, as a result of stress, hormones or just aging.

While there are numerous treatment options, theres one you may never have considered: Changing your diet. Growing evidence suggests that components of your diet can cause or worsen acne, says Caroline Robinson, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and founder of Tone Dermatology in Chicago. Although research is still somewhat scant on this topic, some facts are evident: Unhealthy foods and certain animal products drive skin issues like acne while plants may have the opposite effect.

When you have acne, four main changes happen in the skin, including increased sebum (or oil) production; clogging ofpores by excess skin; bacterial overgrowth, and general inflammation caused by any number of sources. Adult women are more prone to acne than adult men, which could be driven in part by hormones. There is alink to diet, as well: Theoretically, any food that promotes inflammation can make acne worse, Robinson says.

Start first with high glycemic foods. These are foods that cause a spike in blood sugar levels after you eat like white bread, rice, cookies and cakes. High glycemic index foods increase insulin and other things in the body that lead to increased skin inflammation and increased oil production, says Rajani Katta, M.D., dermatologist and author of Glow: The Dermatologists Guide to a Whole Foods Younger Skin Diet who serves on the voluntary clinical faculty of Baylor College of Medicine and the McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas in Houston. Studies show that after people follow a 12-week diet with a low glycemic load, a measure thats obtained by multiplying the quality of a foods carbohydrate by the amount of carbohydrates in one serving of that food, oil glands get smaller.

Dairy and whey products can also drive acne by promoting inflammation, even if you aren't lactose intolerant. There are studies with bodybuildersthat reveal that those athletes taking whey protein supplements developed acne. Heres the kicker: In some cases, although they havent responded to acne medications, their skin improves when they stop taking whey protein, Katta says. So if you're prone to breakouts, stay away from whey.

Why might dairy be damaging to skin? By increasing the production of sebum in the hair follicle, dairy and whey contribute to worsening acne, Robinson says. Other hormones and sugars in the dairy may also play a role.

Studies on how plant-based diets benefit acne arent as robust as the studies on how certain foods trigger acne. Yet there is evidence to suggest that people who eat a diet higher in naturally occurring antioxidants from plants tend to have less acne, Katta says.

And theres a plethora of anecdotal evidence about how skin health improves after eating a plant-only diet. If you begin excluding foods like dairy and processed foods from your diet, theres a good likelihood that your skin will be clear, says Hana Kahleova, M.D., Ph.D., director of clinical research with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, adding that many individuals in its studies report this as a major benefit.

Acne aside, a whole-food, plant-based diet has other noticeable effects on the skin. For starters, research shows that if you eat a plethora of fruits and vegetables, especially those that are high in betacarotene (think carrots, sweet potatoes and red and yellow peppers), you have a rosier glow to your skin, Katta says. Even better? Wrinkles may be reduced on a plant-only diet. In one study, folks who loaded their diet with more fruits and vegetables appeared younger than those who were on a meat-rich diet.

If youre struggling with breakouts and want to try some food fixes, start by eliminating or limiting the added sugar. Youll have to experiment to learn how much added sugar your skin can actually tolerate, as some cant handle any while others can handle a small amount, Katta says. Follow the World Health Organizations recommendation and aim to get no more than six teaspoons of added sugars a day. And note that chocolate can, unfortunately, be an acne trigger for some people, Kahleova says.

Then work onditching dairy. First, if youre taking whey protein, eliminate that from your diet and switch to plant-based protein supplements. Then do some trial and error with plant-based milk and other non-dairy products to find which ones you like best. Just dont expect changes overnight, as it usually takes about eight weeks for acne to respond to a dietary change like this, Katta says.

Finally, move that diet as close to plant-only as possible, which will guarantee that youre eating large amounts of fiber. Fiber-rich foods can help maintain blood sugar levels, which may play a big role in some peoples acne, Katta says. Among them, low-glycemic index foods like beans, certain fruits, vegetables and steel-cut oats may be particularly beneficial for your skin.

According to Dr. Katta, foods rich in zinc like kidney beans, pumpkin seeds and spinach are anti-inflammatory in nature and can aid acne. Studies have also suggested that a healthier gut microbiome may reduce skin inflammation, which is why Katta recommends eating probiotic foods like kimchi, miso, and sauerkraut to calm breakouts. And because fiber is one of the most anti-inflammatory food components there is, veer toward foods that are rich in fiber like beans, lentils, and broccoli.

Other foods that have been studied and are recommended as blemish banishers:

Citrus like oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes, or tropical fruits like papaya and mango are great places to start. Look for anything with an abundanceof vitamin C and fiber. C is for collagen, or it should be: Vitamin C is the building block of collagen, which makes up the cellular scaffolding of skin, organ tissue and vital body functions. There is no such thing as too much C since you'll just pee it away. Aim for a whole orange or red pepper a day, or get it with your leafy greens. Vitamin C is your skin's building block.

Avocados are high in healthy fats, which improve the health of your skin.Getting enough of these fats is essential to keeping skin hydrated. In a study of700 women, a diet high in healthy fats was found to contribute to having springy, supple skin.

Avocados contain compounds that protect skin from sun damage. And avocados are also a great source of vitamin E,which helps protect skin from oxidation, an important antioxidant that helps protect skin from oxidation and toxins. Most Americans dont get enough vitamin Ein their diets

Walnuts for Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids are great for your skin, and walnuts carry are rich in bothomega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which fightinflammation. Walnuts also carry zinc, an essential barrier that keeps UV's harmful rays from penetrating your skin's outer layers. Walnuts provide vitamin E and selenium and have o 45 grams of protein per ounceso eat them on repeat.

See the article here:
The Link Between Diet and Acne: Exactly What to Eat and Not Eat for Clear Your Skin - The Beet

March is National Nutrition Month. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer with the University of Minnesota talks about what healthy eating habits are, what parents can do to encourage their kids to have healthy eating habits and more.

Q: What are healthy eating habits?Dr. Neumark-Sztainer: Healthy eating habits involve a combination of things. One is enjoyable eating, such as eating family meals or eating at a social event. Another is intuitive eating or paying attention to our body's cues (e.g. when your body tells you youre full to stop eating). We can also engage in mindful eating when we pay attention to what we are eating and more fully enjoy the food that we are eating. Finally, it is important to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, choose nutrient-dense foods, and avoid foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients.

Q: What are things parents can do to encourage healthy eating habits?Dr. Neumark-Sztainer: The four cornerstones I focus on in my book Im, Like, SO Fat! Helping Your Teen Make Healthy Choices about Eating and Exercise in a Weight-Obsessed World are the following:

Q: What are signs that someone may not have healthy eating habits?Dr. Neumark-Sztainer: Unhealthy eating habits may include under- or over-eating, not consuming enough healthy food each day, or consuming too much of one type of food or drink. There may also be a change in ones attitudes toward eating, such as not enjoying eating, fearing eating, avoiding eating with others or using food as a coping mechanism.

Think about whether there has been a change in your childs behavior (e.g., eating, level of activity, social interactions), mood (e.g., becoming more socially withdrawn) or physical appearance (e.g., weight change). As a parent, it is not your place to decide whether your child has an eating disorder that is for a professional. It is within your role as a parent to identify any possible problems; open doors for communication with your child; get your child to professional help for diagnosis as early as possible; and work as a collaborative player with members of the health care team if they decide treatment would be helpful.

Q: What should people do if they believe a loved one may have an eating disorder?Dr. Neumark-Sztainer: The chance for recovery increases the earlier an eating disorder is detected. Talk to the person in a manner that shows a great deal of caring, concern about specific behaviors and firmness about the need for help. Make sure to prepare for your conversation up front, write down what you want to say and practice on someone else.

Q: What are you doing to advance research on healthy eating habits?Dr. Neumark-Sztainer: At the University of Minnesota, we are conducting one of largest and most comprehensive studies on eating and weight in adolescents, young adults and families called Project EAT. The project involves the long-term study of two large cohorts of adolescents from the Twin Cities as they progress from adolescence through adulthood.

I currently have funding from the National Institutes of Health to learn more about how best to work with young people and families dealing with challenging life circumstances such as poverty, racism and exposure to stressful life events. We need to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our most vulnerable populations, because we are witnessing growing disparities and inequities in eating and weight-related problems. It is now clear that eating disorders influence young people from different social and ethnic/racial backgrounds and we need to learn more about how to ensure that the needs of all youth are being met.

A newer area of research that I am engaged in involves the study of yoga and how this practice can help with issues of body image, eating practices, and other measures of well-being. This interest stems from my own yoga practice and in-depth study of this practice.

Dianne Neumark-Sztainer is a professor and head of the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Her research focuses on a broad spectrum of eating and weight-related outcomes including eating disorders, unhealthy weight control behaviors, body image, dietary intake, weight stigmatization and obesity.

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Talking healthy eating habits with U of M - UMN News

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), occurs when too much bacteria, usually coliforms, grow in the small intestine. Coliform bacteria ferment carbohydrates, which often leads to symptoms like excess gas, bloating, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. So the idea behind the SIBO diet is to maintain gut health by eating foods that are less likely to ferment in the intestine and feed coliform bacteria.

While SIBO is initially treated with antibiotics, "we think that the diet will prevent the bacteria from coming back," says Mark Pimentel, MD, director of the Medically Associated Science and Technology program and associate professor of gastroenterology at Cedars-Sinai health organization.

There has been relatively little research conducted on the SIBO diet, but it has many overlaps with the low-FODMAP diet, which has more scientific backing as a treatment for gastrointestinal issues. Here's what you need to know about the risk of developing SIBO and how the SIBO diet can help.

Many people assume that SIBO is caused by "bad bacteria" in the gut, but the issue is not the type of bacteria, but rather the amount. It is normal to have a lot of bacteria in the colon, where digestion moves more slowly, but an overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine causes problems like gas and bloating or more concerning symptoms, like diarrhea and constipation.

Age. There isn't enough research to determine how many young people have SIBO. However, among older adults, SIBO is fairly common around 15% of older people have the condition. Older adults are more susceptible to SIBO because they are more likely to have slow digestion and to get gastrointestinal surgeries, which can disrupt the balance of gut bacteria.

IBS and other diseases. There's also a huge overlap in symptoms between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and SIBO and some estimates calculate that one-third of IBS patients have SIBO. You may be at greater risk of developing SIBO if you have a disease that slows digestion like Parkinson's disease, hypothyroidism, or diabetes.

Bowel obstruction. Having a bowel obstruction or deformity in your intestine caused by surgery can also put you at greater risk of developing SIBO.

Proton-pump inhibitors. If you have a condition like acid reflux for which you take proton-pump inhibitors like omeprazole, this will decrease your levels of stomach acid. Stomach acid is important because it prevents an overgrowth of bacteria in the upper small intestine, so without it, you're more likely to develop SIBO.

While the low-FODMAP diet was originally designed to treat IBS, it is often prescribed to treat SIBO as well. Like the low-FODMAP diet, the SIBO diet aims to reduce foods that can ferment in your intestines this means cutting out foods that normally digest more slowly like fiber and certain sugars like lactose.

The main difference between the SIBO diet and the low-FODMAP diet is the level of restriction, says Pimentel. For example, the low-FODMAP diet cuts out most fruits and some root vegetables like onions and garlic, while the SIBO diet is more lenient.

On the SIBO diet, you should not eat:

Foods that break down quickly into simple sugars are good for SIBO, because they give you nutrition without feeding the bacteria in your lower intestines. SIBO diet-friendly foods include:

A day on the SIBO diet might look like:

Though there's less published scientific evidence for the SIBO diet's effectiveness compared to the low-FODMAP diet, Pimentel recommends that SIBO patients should choose the SIBO diet after taking antibiotics.

"The FODMAP diet is studied a lot more, but has some risks because of the restrictive nature," Pimentel says, adding that staying on the low-FODMAP diet for more than 3 months can put you at risk for malnutrition.

Pimentel advises that people should not try to follow the diet on their own, and should always work with a doctor. While people with conditions like IBS or SIBO often feel better when eating highly-restrictive diets, they may harm their overall health in their effort to avoid symptoms. "Being under the guidance of a dietician is the proper way to do it so that you don't fall into the traps of the diets," says Pimentel.

If one round of antibiotics and the SIBO diet don't work to get rid of SIBO symptoms, you may need to do multiple courses of antibiotics, Pimentel says. If there is an underlying condition like diabetes or an obstructed bowel causing SIBO, you may develop recurrent SIBO and you will need to treat the larger problem or regularly take courses of antibiotics.

There are promising results for low-fermentation diets treating gut diseases like IBS, but there is no evidence yet proving this type of diet will have the same effect for SIBO. No matter what diet you choose to follow, make sure that you are always under the supervision of a medical provider.

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What is the SIBO diet and how it can help reduce bloating, gas, and diarrhea - Insider - INSIDER

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. A deadly crash that took the lives of two elderly women on Soutel Drive in January has sparked renewed concerns of safety on the road in Northwest Jacksonville, while city staff move ahead with plans to reduce lanes.

Family members of the late Edna Holton gathered Wednesday evening at the intersection where the fatal crash occurred, advocating for change ahead of a community meeting spearheaded by Councilwoman Brenda Priestly Jackson at the Legends Center.

"People are speeding on this road all the time," said Edna Holton's daughter Latasha Holton. "There really needs to be a turn signal."

Della Laliberte, 92, was a longtime resident of the Sherwood Forest neighborhood off Soutel, and a neighbor of Edna Holton. She was driving south on Soutel with Edna Holton as a passenger, both heading to a community association meeting at the Legends Center on January 16 when the crash happened.

Laliberte went to make a left turn to enter the parking lot of the Legends Center at Leander Shaw Jr. Street when her car was hit by a driver heading in the opposite direction. There is a left turn signal for the northbound lanes of Soutel at that intersection, but not for the southbound lanes.

Edna Holton passed on January 25, and Laliberte on February 24.

"To lose two faithful members doing what they loved to do and being there for their community to me is really kind of senseless," said Eunice Barnum of the Sherwood Forest-Paradise Park Community Association. "I think the light would have made a great deal of difference."

The meeting the two would have attended was to discuss other issues, most revolving around safety, along Soutel Drive.

"I was very shocked and hurt," said Leola Williams, a member of the community association. "If there had been a turning arrow and she had been able to turn, she would not have had to worry about oncoming traffic. It should not have happened."

Meanwhile, the city is working on a wide-ranging plan that could totally transform Soutel Drive. Staff and officials are looking at a concept called a "road diet" that they hope will improve safety by reducing lanes and adding improvements.

As the road currently operates, there are two lanes in each direction with no medians. Under the new model, there would be one lane in each direction with a center turn lane and bike lanes along the sides.

City planners said the new model would allow for bike lanes, raised medians for safer pedestrian crossings and would cut down on speeding and left-hand turn crashes.

"If we do this lane repurpose, [drivers] only have to cross one lane of traffic," said Laurie Santana, Chief of Transportation Planning for Jacksonville. "They don't have to turn against two lanes of traffic."

Santana and other city staff are calling the plan "traffic calming," saying that the improvements would slow drivers down. She said the way the road is designed now discourages people from walking along or crossing it.

"People are just speeding through there and its dangerous," she said.

The Federal Highway Administration refers to road diets as improvement projects that "remove travel lanes from a roadway and utilize the space for other uses and travel modes."

Many renderings of completed road diet projects include added bicycle lanes and a greater distance between vehicles and pedestrians. Other common features include turn lanes, bus lanes, pedestrian refuge islands and landscaping improvements.

Before and after photos of a road diet project in Orlando.

FHWA

But some road diet projects have been faced with criticism, with opponents saying planners are attempting to "make it so miserable to drive that people will have no choice but to choose other ways to travel," according to the Rice Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

Table of Contents Improving safety is a top priority for the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) remains committed to reducing highway fatalities and serious injuries on our Nation's roadways through the use of proven safety countermeasures, including Road Diets.

The FHWAsaid benefits of road diets include "crash reduction of 19 to 47 percent, reduced vehicle speed differential, improved mobility and access by all road users, and integration of the roadway into surrounding uses that result in an enhanced quality of life."

City staff referenced the 19 to 47 percent statistic in their own presentation Wednesday, adding that left turns are a particular area of concern on Soutel.

Barnum and others have expressed concerns about how the lane decrease could impact businesses along the corridor, which would stretch from Lem Turner to New Kings Road.

"There are other elements of that road diet that we could utilize to make the street a lot safer without reducing the lanes," Barnum said.

At Wednesday's meeting, city staff said studies showed Soutel's current traffic count is 1,169 vehicles per hour at its peak, and that the new design would have a capacity of 1,700 per hour. Priestly Jackson noted that the width of the road would not be changed, allowing for a return to four lanes in the future if needed.

Other elements of the plan include improved lighting, traffic signal reconfiguration and a new turn lane at New Kings Road.

The city has estimated construction could start in around a year, but Edna Holton's family and friends are hoping for some changes to arrive sooner than that. In particular, the turn light at the intersection where the crash happened.

"You have other communities that don't have to go through what we go through here on the Northside," Williams said. "When we drive around we see all these improvements in these other communities, we're saying 'Why not us?"

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What is a 'road diet'? City officials hope the idea will answer safety concerns on Soutel Drive - FirstCoastNews.com WTLV-WJXX

Courtesy of Ashley Paulson

Ashley Paulson has a little more energy than most people. Ever since the mom of four from St. George, Utah, began training for Ironman triathlons and marathons 10 years ago, she has grown to embrace early-morning workouts, late-night treadmill runs, and afternoon doubles whenever she can squeeze them in.

I dont want to be a mom whos not involved, Paulson told Runners World. Even if that means waking up before my kids do and staying up late to greet my two 18-year-old daughters when they get home at night. Indoor training and early mornings arent a chore anymore.

By day, Paulson, 38, works as a coach for iFit, a virtual training app offered by NordicTrack. Her job allows her to get in her first workout of the day, then she usually supplements with another session on her own in the afternoon. A typical week of training for the athlete includes running between 70 and 80 miles, cycling 12 to 15 hours, and swimming five to six hours.

I run a lot more compared to most triathletes, because its my favorite, she said. When I get off the bike in an Ironman, Im like, Yay, now I get to run a marathon!

Last year, Paulson qualified for the 2020 Olympic Marathon Trials at Grandmas Marathon with a finish time of 2:44:50. Throughout the winter, she trained for Atlanta in a similar way that she prepares for Ironmans, maintaining the cycling and swimming load while increasing her running only slightly.

I dont run as much as other qualifiers, but I think biking and swimming keeps me just as fit and helps prevent injuries, she said. The hard work paid off: On Saturday, February 29, Paulson clocked 2:40:07 on the hilly and windy course at Trials, finishing 44th overall for women.

To keep up with the rigorous demands of her training and racing schedules, Paulson has to consume plenty of fuel. Here, she gives us the rundown of what she typically eats and drinks for a day of training.

On a day where I can sleep in a bit, Ill wake up around 6 a.m. and drop my first kid off at school at 7 a.m. If my morning workout is an hour or less, Ill do it fasted once I get home and eat breakfast afterward. If the workout is longer than an hour, Ill have toast with butter and jam and a shake blended with chocolate protein powder, peanut butter, strawberries, and a banana. I call it my PB&J smoothie. Im not a coffee person, so I add 65mg of caffeine to my shake.

On race mornings, I like having two packages of applesauce, toast, and a banana about three hours beforehand. Then an hour before the race, Ill eat a single-serving bag of Cheetos. It sounds crazy, but I tried Cheetos before Grandmas Marathon, and it sat really well and stocked me up on salt and carbs, so now its my lucky fuel. If Im hungry right before the race, Ill have an energy gel.

The biggest change Ive made to my training and racing over the years is adopting a better nutrition strategy. In my first Ironman, I only had 200 calories over the course of the race, and I learned that fueling during a race will make or break you. Now, I have 200 calories per hour of exercise. If Im running or doing a hard bike workout, Ill take in calories in liquid formenergy gels. If its a long ride, simple carb-and-salt combos work. My personal favorite ride snacks are puffed Cheetos and apple fritter doughnuts.

Plant-Based Chocolate Protein Powder

Im a sandwich junkie. For lunch, Ill usually make a big sandwich with avocado, turkey, lettuce, tomato, and mayo, and have that with water mixed with amino acids, which help with recovery. I typically leave at least four hours between my first and second workoutsthat way, my legs can recover and my food settles. About an hour before my second workout, Ill have a G2G bar. Im not a protein bar person, but these bars taste amazing.

Four times per week, Ill have a basic combo of chicken and rice, and during the weekends, Ill eat pizza with my family, or well go out to dinner. My usual weeknight bowl consists of grilled chicken cooked in our backyard smoker and white ricewhich I make using coconut milk to make it extra creamywith Ranch dressing and Wingers sauce on top. Its maybe not the healthiest, but it packs in carbs, protein, and salt, which I need a lot of.

The day before a race, I usually avoid fiber altogether to lower my risk of stomach issues. My biggest meal the day before is breakfastIll load up on pancakes, eggs, and other carbs. For dinner the night before, Ill have chicken, rice, and a baked potato with salt about two hours before bed.

Im obsessed with candy. On a non-race day, I prefer bringing jelly beans or Swedish fish as workout fuel instead of an energy gel. If my kids are having cake or ice cream at home, Ill eat some with them. I try to keep my sugar tooth in check, but I firmly believe that you can have everything in moderation.

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Prerace Cheetos Helped Ashley Paulson Tackle the Olympic Marathon Trials - Runner's World