Category Archives: Diet And Food

Long life expectancy is found in certain parts of the world, with some countries boasting impressive health figures and others looking rather dismal. Life expectancy can fall due to problems like war, disease and poor health. A certain diet enjoyed by many countries has been proven to help increase life expectancy.

The Mediterranean diet is rich in heart-healthy olive oil, vegetables, and wine in moderation.

The diet has long been hailed as one of the most healthiest diets in the world and has contributed to Spains long-lived population.

With an average life expectancy of 82.8, the Mediterranean diet remains the gold standard for living longer and healthier.

READ MORE: Bowel cancer: Taking this popular medication could help stave your risk of the disease

The Mediterranean diet has proven beneficial effects not only regarding metabolic syndrome, but also on its individual components including waist circumference, HDL-cholesterol levels, triglycerides levels, blood pressure levels and glucose metabolism, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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What exactly is the Mediterranean diet?

The diet is commonly characterised by a high intake of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, pulses, healthy fats from nuts and olives, herbs and spices, along with seafood a few times a week, a moderate consumption of dairy, eggs and wine, avocados and a limited intake of meat and sweets.

What the science says about the diet?

One measure of longevity often cited in research is telomere length. In a nutshell, telomeres are caps found at the ends of chromosomes that protect DNA. When they become too short, a cell becomes old or dysfunctional.

This is why shorter telomeres are associated with a lower life expectancy and an increased risk of developing chronic diseases.

Research has shown that a greater adherence to a Mediterranean diet is linked to longevity through maintaining longer telomere length.

Other research has shown that for each one-point increment in the Mediterranean diet score (which measures adherence to the diet), the risk of death from any cause drops by four to seven percent.

To Mediterranean-ize ones meals, replace butter with nut butter or avocado on toast, and trade the fat for extra virgin olive oil to saut vegetables.

Snack on fresh fruit with nuts, olives, or roasted chickpeas, and keep meals simple.

A balanced Med-diet dinner may consist of fish served on a bed of greens tossed in extra virgin olive oil with a side of roasted potatoes or quinoa and a glass of pinot noir.

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How to live longer: The gold standard diet proven to increase life expectancy - Express

It's tempting to try the latest diet fad to lose weight, but it turns out sticking with the basics remains the best way for a healthier 2020.

For the third year in a row, the Mediterranean diet is the No. 1 overall diet according to U.S. News & World Report 2020 Best Diets. It also ranked highly in several other categories, including easiest diets to follow, best diets for healthy eating, best diets for diabetes and best plant-based diets.

There are really no surprises, Angela Haupt, managing editor of health at U.S. News & World Report told, TODAY. We can fully expect that the same diets that perform well traditionally to perform well again this year and those are the diets that are safe, sensible, backed by sound science.

When it comes to best overall diets, the Flexitarian and DASH diets tied for second. DASH which was developed by the National Institutes of Health to lower blood pressure had ranked in the top spot in previous years because of its focus on vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy.

The Flexitarian diet also emphasizes eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains with less meat, though it doesnt advocate completely giving up meat like vegetarian or vegan diets. The Mediterranean diet relies on similar foods as the DASH diet, but encourages the consumption of healthy fats, such as olive or vegetable oils, and permits occasional alcoholic beverages.

We were excited to see that the Flexitarian diet tied for No. 2 for best diets overall for the first time, Haupt said. The experts (liked) its flexibility about the idea that more plant-based eating is better.

When it comes to commercial diets, WW, formerly Weight Watchers, ranks No. 1 followed by Jenny Craig and Nutritarian. The ketogenic diet, a moderate protein, high-fat, low-carb diet, remains very popular, but it only ranked well in one category: best fast weight-loss diet.

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Our experts say, Yes, it works for fast weight loss. You will drop pounds in the short term if that is your goal, Haupt said. However, that doesn't translate to healthiness. Losing weight quickly does not mean you were doing it in a healthy manner and it certainly doesn't mean you can expect to keep those pounds off.

Regimens that provided benefits in addition to weight loss and maintenance ranked higher than those that did not. Research has shown the Mediterranean diet, for example, can add years to ones life and reduces the likelihood of developing some illnesses. The DASH diet helps lower blood pressure and the MIND diet, which tied for third in the easiest diets to follow, might bolster brain health.

The best diets may also have some other things going for them. They are easier to follow and incorporate some healthy eating habits and are value-added, Leslie Bonci, a nutritionist and owner of Active Eating Advice, told TODAY. Theyre helping us to live longer or for our brains to be healthier.

Well regarded diets also include foods rather than exclude them.

The Mediterranean diet is a really good example of the fact that dieting can taste good it doesn't have to mean bland or pre-packaged food, Haupt said. You're getting all those fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains and spices and herbs and olive oil.

Diets that eliminate a lot of food, such as the Dukan diet, keto and Whole 30, rank poorly in 35, 34 and 33 place, respectively overall. People struggle to adhere to so many rules.

(Restrictive diets are) difficult to follow, especially if they're cutting out an entire group of food, like no dairy, no wheat or to completely eliminate meat, Sarah Van Riet, a registered dietitian at University of Wisconsin Health, told TODAY.

Avoiding foods can cause health problems and bad behaviors, such as binge eating, she said.

The research shows that any sort of restrictive diets, Van Riet said, do not work and they actually cause harm.

Diets that rank highly are less of a quick fix and more of a lifestyle change.

Common sense is starting to prevail over nonsense, Bonci said. Consumers are starting to understand we want (eating habits) to last for the long haul.

Van Riet said that while the high ranking diets do include holistic modifications, a list may not help people understand truly how to eat.

I'm not sure that they're actually telling the average person much about healthy lifestyle, she said.

Still, she believes the list can provide somewhere to start for those who do not have access to a dietitian.

It's interesting to look at qualities of these different guidelines that overlap and learn a bit more about different dietary patterns, she noted.

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What is the best diet for 2020? Mediterranean, Flexitarian and DASH top list - TODAY

Can diet impact mental health? A new review takes a look at the evidence. Overall, the authors conclude that although nutrition certainly does appear to have an impact, there are still many gaps in our knowledge.

Nutrition is big business, and the public is growing increasingly interested in how food affects health. At the same time, mental health has become a huge focus for scientists and the general population alike.

It is no surprise, then, that interest in the impact of food on mental health, or "nutritional psychiatry," is also gathering momentum.

Supermarkets and advertisements inform us all, at great volume, about superfoods, probiotics, prebiotics, fad diets, and supplements. All of the above, they tell us, will boost our body and our mind.

Despite the confidence of marketing executives and food manufacturers, the evidence linking the food we eat to our state of mind is less clear-cut and nowhere near as definitive as some advertising slogans would have us believe.

At the same time, the authors of the new review explain, "neuropsychiatric disorders represent some of the most pressing societal challenges of our time." If it is possible to prevent or treat these conditions with simple dietary changes, it would be life changing for millions of people.

This topic is complex and convoluted, but trying to understand the nuances is vital work.

Recently, a group of researchers reviewed the existing research into nutrition and mental health. They have now published their findings in the journal European Neuropsychopharmacology.

The authors assessed the current evidence to gain a clearer understanding of the true influence of food on mental health. They also looked for holes in our knowledge, uncovering areas that need increased scientific attention.

That diet might affect mood makes good sense. First and foremost, our brains need nutrients to function. Also, the food we eat directly influences other factors that can impact mood and cognition, such as gut bacteria, hormones, neuropeptides, and neurotransmitters.

However, gleaning information about how specific types of diet influence specific mental health issues is incredibly challenging.

The reviewers found, for instance, that a number of large cross-sectional population studies demonstrate a relationship between certain nutrients and mental health. However, it is impossible, from this type of study, to determine whether or not food itself is driving these changes in mental health.

At the other end of the scale, well-controlled dietary intervention studies that are better at proving causation tend to recruit smaller numbers of participants and only run for a short period of time.

Lead author Prof. Suzanne Dickson, from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, explains the overarching theme of the team's findings:

"We have found that there is increasing evidence of a link between a poor diet and the worsening of mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. However, many common beliefs about the health effects of certain foods are not supported by solid evidence."

One diet that has received a great deal of attention during the past few years is the Mediterranean diet. According to the recent review, there is some relatively strong evidence to suggest that the Mediterranean diet can benefit mental health.

In their review, the authors explain how "a systematic review combining a total of 20 longitudinal and 21 cross-sectional studies provided compelling evidence that a Mediterranean diet can confer a protective effect against depression."

They also found strong evidence to suggest that making some dietary changes can help people with certain conditions. For instance, children with drug resistant epilepsy have fewer seizures when they follow a ketogenic diet, which is high in fat and low in carbohydrates.

Also, people with vitamin B-12 deficiencies experience lethargy, fatigue, and memory problems. These deficiencies are also linked with psychosis and mania. For these people, vitamin B-12 supplementation can significantly improve mental well-being.

However, as the authors point out, it is not at all clear if vitamin B-12 would make a significant difference to people who are not clinically defined as deficient.

For many of the questions the researchers explored in this review, it was not possible to reach firm conclusions. For instance, in the case of vitamin D, some research has concluded that supplementation improves working memory and attention in older adults. Other studies have found that using vitamin D supplements might reduce the risk of depression.

However, many of these studies were small, and other, similar studies have concluded that vitamin D does not have any impact on mental health.

As the review's authors point out, because "a substantial proportion of the general population has a vitamin D deficiency," understanding its role in mental health is important.

Similarly, the evidence for a nutritional role in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was quite mixed.

As Prof. Dickson outlines: "[W]e can see [that] an increase in the quantity of refined sugar in the diet seems to increase ADHD and hyperactivity, whereas eating more fresh fruit and vegetables seems to protect against these conditions. But there are comparatively few studies, and many of them don't last long enough to show long-term effects."

"There is a general belief that dietary advice for mental health is based on solid scientific evidence. In reality, it is very difficult to prove that specific diets or specific dietary components contribute to mental health."

Prof. Suzanne Dickson

The authors go on to explain some of the inherent difficulties in studying the impact of diet on mental health, and they offer some ideas for the future. Overall, Prof. Dickson concludes:

"Nutritional psychiatry is a new field. The message of this paper is that the effects of diet on mental health are real, but that we need to be careful about jumping to conclusions on the base of provisional evidence. We need more studies on the long-term effects of everyday diets."

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Does diet influence mental health? Assessing the evidence - Medical News Today

So youve decided to eat healthier and lose weight in 2020. Now what? With New Years resolutions in full swing, along comes a slew of diet options that promise to help you shed 5, 10, or even 15 pounds in just a few weeks. While its tempting to try a fad diet that involves say, eliminating an entire food group, there are more sustainable (and safer) ways to lose weight.

The truth is, fad diets often backfire, and once the diet is stopped, youre likely to gain even more weight back than you lost. Small, actionable, sustainable changes that actually work for you are really the only way to achieve long-term health and well-being, says Jaclyn London, MS, RD, CDN, the head of nutrition and wellness atWW (Weight Watchers Reimagined) in New York City.

A science- and behavior-based weight loss program like the newmyWWfrom WW, Weight Watchers Reimagined, can help you find the most effective way for you to lose weight since it matches you with a customized eating plan that takes into account your unique food preferences, activity level, lifestyle, and approach to weight loss.

To help you learn more about what works and what doesnt, weve rounded up the top reasons fad diets fall short in the long term, plus proven ways to achieve your weight loss goals in 2020.

Many fad diets tell you to cut out foods that contain key nutrients, such as fiber or protein. The popular ketogenic diet, for example, restricts carbohydrates, a food group that includes grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes.

Most fad diets rely on one basic principle thats simply ineffective for weight loss, and thats restriction of a whole food group or nutrient, London says.

Restrictive diets can leave you feeling hungry, deprived, and bored with your food options, which can wreak havoc on your weight loss goals. Whats more, restriction is not exactly living your best life, London adds.

Restriction often doesnt work because its not sustainable. With myWW, no foods are off-limits, says London. The program helps you make more informed decisions with their proprietary SmartPoints system to help you shed the pounds.

Plus, eliminating key nutrients without talking to your doctor can be detrimental to your health. TheDietary Guidelines for Americans, which are put out by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) along with the Department of Agriculture (USDA), recommends eating a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean sources of protein while limiting saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium. Following these guidelines can help boost your health, ward off chronic disease, and help you reach and maintain a healthy weight.

You can incorporate these guidelines into your own diet by following abalanced weight loss program like myWW, which features a wide variety of foods in its customized plans. With myWW, you can eat what you love and lose weight.

The one-size-fits-all approach is destined for failure, says London. For starters, people have their own unique food preferences, and we all need to approach healthier eating in a way that works for us. What works well for your sister, co-worker, or best friend isnt necessarily going to be the right approach for you.

A study published in February 2018 in theJournal of the American Medical Association supports the notion that different methods work for different people. In the study, both low-fat and low-carb diets, which involve drastically different eating approaches, were equally effective at helping people lose weight over a 12-month period. Unlike most fad diets, the diets in the study featured a variety of foods that were wholesome and contained real food ingredients.

London says that a healthy weight loss program should take into account the foods you like and dislike, your weight loss goals, your activity level, your lifestyle (and busy schedule), and more. Thats the best way to make a lifestyle change you can feel good about and actually stick with.

Its scientifically proven that customized approaches lead to greater engagement and more behavior change than generic approaches, says Gary Foster, PhD, the chief scientific officer of WW. Thenew myWW program does just that: Through a science-backed personal assessment, youll be matched to the weight loss plan that can be most effective for you.

The new myWW program enables people to live their lives and still lose weight, Dr. Foster says.The myWW personal assessment asks you questions about your eating habits and behaviors to deliver a customized weight loss plan.

LEARN MORE:Take the myWW assessment to get a weight loss program tailored to you.

Restrictive, quick-fix diets not only cut out essential nutrient groups, but also often limit you to fewer calories than whats recommended by reputable health organizations or allow you to eat too much of certain foods. For example, eating an unlimited amount of high-protein foods sounds appealing, but that all-you-can-eat steak dinner isnt good for your waistline or heart.

Commonly, fad diets tout misleading health claims that promise to modify your genetics, alter your bodys natural chemistry, or burn more fat.

A wealth of research supports the benefits of nutritionally-balanced diets that give you flexibility. Examples include Mediterranean-style diets, the DASH diet, and myWW, all of which are rich in veggies, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins (including legumes, nuts, and seeds) and limited in unhealthy fats, sweets, and salt.

In the case of myWW, the team at WW used cutting-edge nutritional and behavioral science to develop a weight loss program with multiple customized plans that are equally effective. Theyve also studied the results: In a six-month pre-post study of myWW conducted at the Weight Management Center of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the 143 participants experienced a number of benefits on and off the scale. On average, people lost 8 percent of their weight, experienced a 24 percent drop in hunger, and saw a 7 percent reduction in their overall cravings.

Youve likely heard of yo-yo dieting, or the tendency for dieters to rebound from unsustainable fad diets with unhealthy eating habits and regain the weight theyve lost. This happens because most fad diets dont address permanent changes, such as healthy food choices and regular exercise, that are necessary to keep pounds off. Without a foundation of healthy habits, youre likely to return to your starting weight.

A weight loss plan should be more than just a no eat list, but it should also encourage you to make healthier choices wherever you are at home, at a restaurant, or on the go.

In the MUSC six-month clinical trial of myWW, more than 90 percent of participants agreed that the program helped them learn healthy long-term habits and taught them the skills they needed to keep the weight off.

Millions of people have been able to reach their weight loss goals through WW, and key to that success is having the tools you need to stay on track, including people to support you along the way.

In addition to offering meal plans and more than 8,000 recipes, myWW members have access to a huge support network through WWs global community. Whether you choose to attend in-person WW workshops or use theWW app or both you can learn new skills from WW coaches and share stories and tips with other members. With the app, coaches are available online 24/7 to answer your questions.

Since people who track their weight loss progress tend to be more successful at meeting their goals, the WW app motivates members to log their meals, activities, and weight through theWellnessWins feature, a rewards program in which you win free stuff anything from a yoga mat to a month of Rent the Runway Unlimited simply for adopting and maintaining healthy habits. Plus, you cansync the app with your fitness device, which makes it even easier to track your habits.

There are so many cool and unique things about myWW, says London. The program creates as much or as little encouragement as you personally need, and it [comes with] a built-in community of people who are there to see one another succeed.

If you want to try a new approach to eating healthier and losing weight in 2020, try myWW. Not only is the program proven to work, itsbeen consistently ranked the #1 Program for Weight Loss, 9 years in a row by US News & Report. And now, with myWWs customized plans, its easier than ever to lose weight and keep it off. Get started with myWW now.

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4 Reasons New Year's Resolution Fad Diets Don't Work and What to Do Instead - Everyday Health

Vegan diet and carb cycling diet were other popular diets followed by Indians in 2019

January7, 20203 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Keto and intermittent fasting diets were the most popular weight loss diets among Indian in 2019, according to a survey conducted by the mobile health and fitness app, HealthifyMe. Keto, or a ketogenic diet, is a low-carb diet where a person mostly intake fats and proteins to achieve ketosisa state where the liver burns body fat. Intermittent fasting on the other hand does not tell what to eat but when to eat and when not to eat. It involves alternating cycles of fasting and eating.

The least popular diets among Indians were Dukan Diet by French nutritionist Pierre Dukan and Atkins diet by cardiologist Robert Atkins from the US.

Also Read:App Your Health Game

Morning glory of the workouts

According to the survey, most Indians prefer working out in the morning. Indians favorite workout time in 2019 was mornings with almost 70 per cent completing their workout between 4 am to 12 pm. Out of these, 40 per cent preferred to work out early morning between 4 am and 8 am while 30 per cent worked out between 8 am to 12 pm, read the survey. Only a mere 30 per cent Indians preferred working out in the evening between 4 am to 8 pm.

The top three workout activities adopted by Indians in 2019 were marathons, yoga and crossfit.

Also Read:How Eating Slow Can Transform Your Health and Make You More Productive

Most loved superfoods

Green Tea, Chia seeds and turmeric were the top three most consumed superfood by Indians, followed by ghee, ragi and quinoa. The survey states, One positive diet trend that Indians followed in 2019 was replacing white rice and wheat with healthier grains. While white rice was replaced majorly by brown rice followed by quinoa, wheat was replaced by millets followed by jowar and ragi.

The least popular superfood of 2019 were kale, wheat grass and amla.

Also Read:India's Opportunity with the Rising Health and Nutritional Awareness in Tier II and Tier III Cities

Social trends impinging the fitness of Indians

Long working hours and sleep deprivation affected the fitness of Indians the most in 2019. According to the survey, Long working hours and sleep deprivation owing to binge watching shows on streaming services are the top two social trends that adversely affected the fitness levels of Indians in 2019.

The other two major health deterrents were easy access to packaged food and food delivery services.

Tushar Vashisht, co-founder and CEO, HealthifyMe, commenting on the survey said, Frankly, we do not think one needs to make radical changes to their lifestyle to achieve fitness. Setting realistic goals, exercising regularly and being calorie conscious is a sure shot path to sustainable fitness as per our experience. A little bit of discipline is all that it takes.

The survey is based on the analysis of the responses shared by over 500 nutritionists and trainers serving millions of users spread across 300-plus cities in India.

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Keto And Intermittent Fasting Were The Top Fad Diets In 2019: Survey - Entrepreneur

January usually happens like clockwork: a slew of new self-help books, articles and slimming blogs encourage you to be your best self, often by adopting a radical new diet that promises to blitz those spare inches around your waist for good.

The problem is, many crash diets encourage periods of miserable fasting and cutting out sometimes entire good groups overnight, and demonise food to the point where youre whole relationship with eating can be under threat.

According to fitness guru Joe Wicks who has successfully helped thousands of people to lose weight staying on these restrictive diets for a long period of time is often unrealistic and unhealthy. Even if you do lose weight initially, its not unusual to gain it again (plus even more, in some cases) before the spring comes around.

Thankfully, attitudes around diet culture are changing. A new survey commissioned by recipe box company Gousto (gousto.co.uk) has found two-thirds (68%) of UK adults believe the one-size-fits-all model just doesnt work.

So, how can you shed those excess pounds in a safe and effective way? We asked Wicks to give us some quick tips

Why should people avoid restrictive diets in January?

Its the time of year now where everyone wants to make changes to their life, whether thats with exercise or food, but the last thing you want to do especially if youre someone who really loves food is to go on a low-calorie diet, says Wicks, 33.

Sure, it will work in the short-term and youll probably lose weight on the scales, but emotionally its going to absolutely ruin you. Youre going to be so exhausted, you wont enjoy it and its not going to be a sustainable approach.Joe Wicks is urging people to avoid jumping on the crash-diet bandwagon (Gousto/PA)

Try to think about a long-term vision, as opposed to a quick crash diet. Incorporate it with exercise and cooking with fresh ingredients at home; youre much more likely to succeed throughout the year.

Why do people fail at New Years diets?

Because theyre awful, arent they? Dieting is normally all about how little you can eat and how much exercise you can do. When you combine those two things, it effects your sleep, your mood and your energy levels.

If I could give you one tip, its to focus on getting yourself moving instead. I always tell people to start with 15-20 minutes a day of exercise at home; this will get your energy levels up and your self-esteem boosted. Exercising is going to have a massive effect on your food choices and your ability to go into the kitchen and cook yourself something healthy.

Trying to do everything all at once is a bit much, he adds. Focus on fitness first, and the rest will hopefully follow.

What other tips do you have for those looking to lose weight this year?

Have a look at your portion control. Im not saying to count calories, but to keep your plate to a healthy size. The good thing about exercise is that it elevates your mental health and your mood so much that you dont want to go and put junk food in your body afterwards.

Meal prepping is one of the best things you can do too. If you leave the house without food, youre going to grab options on-the-go, which will likely be unhealthy convenience food.

Thats fine to do once or twice a week, but if youre doing it a lot, youre never going to truly know exactly how much youre consuming. The simple act of making some overnight oats for breakfast, or a salad for lunch can make a huge difference over time when it comes to staying lean.

What are you favourite ingredients for healthy eating?

I really think its great to have chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, curry powder, spices and tins of lentils, pulses, grains and beans in your cupboard. With these key ingredients, you can make really amazing veggie curries, or you could throw some chicken in there for some extra protein. Rice is also a great staple for making quick stir-fries after work.

Theres no magic fat-loss food; its all about getting a good balance of everything and getting lots of fruits and veg in your diet.

Its good to be a bit intuitive with it ask yourself what foods make you feel energised and healthy? Dont think you have to jump onto a certain diet because everyone else is doing it.

Do you follow a flexitarian diet yourself?

Yes. I eat a lot of veggie meals and with Gousto, I get four recipe boxes delivered per week that I can make at home. Three of those will be vegetarian and one will be meat-based.

Thats a massive step for me. During the process of researching and writing my veggie cookbook, Veggie Lean in 15 (16.99, Pan Macmillan), I realised that you can get really amazing food as a vegetarian. Im still not fully committed to going hardcore vegan though.

Many people feel like they dont have time to cook healthily, do you think thats untrue?

I really think you have to remove that time barrier from your mind. We know full well that we can smash a Netflix series in a couple of days or watch our soaps, so we can all find half an hour to exercise or cook well if we prioritise it.

It doesnt need to be hours in the kitchen either. My whole philosophy with my Lean in 15 series is that you can make a really healthy and nutritious meal in just 15 minutes, and have some leftover for lunch the next day.

Its that kind of mentality of prepping in advanced and being organised that works in the long-run.

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Joe Wicks on why you shouldn't try restrictive dieting this January - Irish Examiner

GREENSBORO, N.C. It's easy to make New Year's resolutions focused on health. The hard part is keeping them. In fact, studies show, about 80-percent of New Year's resolutions fail by the second week of February. But, before you blame yourself entirely for not reaching New Year's resolution goals in the past, you might want consider placing some of the blame on your neighborhood.

A recent WalletHub study ranked the best and worst cities for keeping New Year's resolutions.Researchers compared 182 cities across five key dimensions: health resolutions, financial resolutions, school and work resolutions, bad-habit resolutions, and relationship resolutions. When it comes to achieving health resolutions in the new year, the city of Greensboro ranked 126 out of 182 cities.

If you set a New Year's resolution to be healthier in 2020, You're not alone. A recent Ipsos public opinion survey of 2,011 Americans on behalf of Urban Plates shows that 38-percent of Americans set New Year's resolutions in 2020. Out of those surveyed, about 51-percent plan on eating healthier for the new year.

If you're looking for a way to stick to a healthy diet in 2020, you might want to consider participating in a heart-healthy cooking class. The American Heart Association is also offering new healthy cooking classes at the Historic Magnolia House located at 442 Gorrell Street in Greensboro.

"We are very excited," said Chef NGai Dickerson with The American Heart Associations Triad Mobile Kitchen. "Thanks to Healthy Blue, the new Medicaid plan from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, the AHA's Triad Mobile Kitchen has been able to acquire a new "home kitchen" here at the Historic Magnolia House and we are expanding healthy cooking classes to communities in need across the Triad."

The American Heart Association will be holding a heart-healthy cooking class at the Historic Magnolia House on Thursday, January 23rd from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. During the class, you will learn knife skills and cook chicken roti. The best part is: the cooking class is free. For more information, click here. You can also contact Chef N'Gai Dickerson at 336-905-3348 or ngai.dickerson@heart.org.

TheAmerican Heart Associationalso recommends the following healthy-eating tips for healthy adults and children older than age 2 as well as people who already have health problems, such as coronary artery disease , diabetes , metabolic syndrome , or heart failure:

Special considerations include the following:

Other heart-healthy diets:

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Tips for a healthier diet and lifestyle in 2020 - WFMYNews2.com

Juice diet, low-carb, keto, clean eating, alkaline diet, fasting, low-fat, baby food The list of fad diets promising weight loss miracles and quick fixes seems to go on and on.

January is a popular time to overhaul our eating habits, for obvious reasons, but 90% of us will abandon our chosen diet by the end of the month.

Deprivation diets might help us to initially shed a few pounds but they are really setting most of us up to fail, according to Aberdeen-based nutrition coach Graeme Tomlinson.

Fad diets come in all different forms. What they all have in common is that they require a calorie deficit to work but they have their own extreme ways of doing that which is more marketable, he says.

The ultimate reason people fail at dieting is that their diet wasnt sustainable or they lacked motivation.

Rigid diet schedules are as likely to lead to anxiety, guilt and discouragement as they are to weight loss.

Graeme, also known as The Fitness Chef, first set out to debunk dieting myths on Instagram where his no nonsense approach to food has won him half a million followers.

Now in a new book, Eat What You Like and Lose Weight for Life, he aims to cut through the marketing maze of diet culture to lay out in simple terms what we need to do to shed the pounds.

Its about understanding what youre eating as opposed to listening to all the dieting myths out there, he adds. This is empowering people with the basic facts so they can have as flexible a diet as possible, which means they are more likely to enjoy it and succeed. There is no good reason why you need to rip up your current eating plan and adopt a completely different new one. Its about making informed choices and smart changes.

Despite the multi-billion-pound dieting industry, Graeme stresses that the key to losing weight is simple: achieving and maintaining a calorie deficit. Losing weight doesnt need to be unenjoyable. You can still eat all your favourite foods as long as you achieve your calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories than you expend, he explains.

Its important to include every, single food that you enjoy at some point because, when we ban things, we tend to crave them more and that will eventually lead to excess.

Carbs, fats and sugar are allowed but its about understanding what it means when you eat them and doing so in moderation.

I want people to have a more laid-back perspective on weight loss and understand the basics, because calories in vs calories out is really all you need to know.

There are many online calorie deficit calculators including my own at fitnesschef.uk which will help you quickly work out your daily and weekly calorie and protein requirements for weight loss.

Simply type in your age, gender, weight, height and how active you are and it works out the calorie requirement to maintain your current weight, then a percentage is deducted to create a calorie deficit ie how many calories you have to cut in order to lose weight. I recommend following a 15-20% deficit from maintenance calories.

For example, if your total daily energy expenditure is 3,500 calories, to achieve a 15% deficit, your new daily calorie target to achieve fat loss would be 2,975 calories. The easiest way to sustain a calorie deficit is by gradually reducing it over time. Its important to think about the long-term and be patient rather than going for a quick fix. And as you lose weight, remember to keep recalculating your daily calorie intake to continue losing fat. The leaner you become, the harder it is to lose fat at the same rate.

Remember: once youve reached your weight goal you can eat more calories as part of your maintenance plan.

There are multiple calorie-tracking apps available to help you log your consumed calories. Tracking your calories across the week rather than a day means you can be more flexible.

If your calorie target for fat loss is 2,000 calories per day, change this to a target of 14,000 per week. If you go over your daily calorie target, you havent failed because you can have less on the other days.

Over the past 30 years or so the consumption of carbs has been vilified by those who believe that carbs impact on body fat more than any other macronutrient. But overall calorie balance will define fat loss, not carbs. A 2018 review of rates of fat loss in low-carb vs low-fat diets found they were virtually the same when calories and protein were equated.

Despite what youve heard, sugar is not bad. We just like to blame an easy target for our problems. Sugar is a simple carbohydrate found in many natural foods, such as fruit, and in processed foods, such as cake. Eating high volumes of sugar-rich foods lacking in protein and fibre may contribute to becoming overweight but only because you are likely to eat more of them as your body will digest them faster and burn fewer calories while doing so. And remember protein burns more calories during digestion.

Intermittent fasting is a popular fat-loss strategy. Research suggests that intermittent fasting results in fat loss, but this is because the fasters ultimately simply reduced their calorie intake. Intermittent fasting helps some people eat within their calorie deficit, while others find it too difficult. Do what works for you.

A large handful of fruit-and-nut mix with a health-branded smoothie serves as a nutritious snack, which many think will benefit their weight. Yes, a portion of McNuggets and a large Coca-Cola is viewed as a terrible choice that will make you fat. But this fast food option has significantly fewer calories and more proteins. You can eat fast food and lose weight as long as you consume it within your daily targets and understand that you should still focus on whole foods most of the time.

Small changes can reap big rewards. For example, using 15ml of olive oil a day for cooking equates to 135 calories. Over a year, thats 49,275 calories and approximately 6.3kg/1 stone in body weight. Using a cooking spray or, even better, a non-stick pan instead will help you reduce your calories with minimal sacrifice.

Read more:
Eat what you want and lose weight: Nutrition coach Graeme Tomlinson's top tips on how to enjoy shedding the pounds - The Sunday Post

Great news our colleague Jay Richards is out with a brand new book, which is always good news in itself. But this one is a fascinating departure from his past work like The Privileged Planet.

In Eat, Fast, Feast, Dr. Richards combines research on diet and his own exploration of spiritual life, with a case that humans are intelligently designed not to graze in the modern fashion but, periodically, to fast, and then to feast. The book is published today by HarperOne. Jay discusses the subject with host Robert Crowther on a new episode of ID the Future. Download the podcast or listen to it here.

I listened to it myself with special interest because in my own Jewish tradition, today is a fast day. Just now Im about an hour from completing the fast. As Richards points out, fasting in some sense is built into most every culture and faith. What Jay calls fasting on a fractal pattern is, he argues, the healthiest way to go about it. And why would all this be? At a moments notice, Darwinists can spin forth a just-so story about the habits of Paleolithic man. With a little imagination, no doubt you could tell such an after-the-fact story yourself. Much more helpful and enlightening is to consider the possibility that we are designed to eat this way, as Jay Richards does. You can order your copy now!

Photo credit:James ColemanviaUnsplash.

Original post:
Intelligent Design and Intelligent Dieting: New Book by Jay Richards on the Wisdom of Fasting - Discovery Institute

This article originally appeared in Ensia.

In southern Israels stifling heat, rows of salicornia, commonly known as sea asparagus or sea beans, grow under translucent tarps, planted into ground more sand than soil, irrigated with saltwater. This environment would kill most plants, but these segmented succulents look beautiful green and healthy. In partnership with researchers at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, local farmers are exporting them to markets in nearby countries.

Sea beans taste like salty cucumber and grow wild in coastal areas around the globe. But in recent years researchers have begun to focus on them for agriculture, especially in dry coastal regions such as India, Israel, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. These researchers efforts are defining what extremes the plant can withstand, its nutrient needs and how to get it to grow faster and with greater yield. As the planet warms and the seas rise, resilient crops such as sea beans might become climate saviors. But only if we are willing to eat them.

Everybody matters

Climate change is already affecting our food supply. In a paper published this year,researchers calculatedthat the available calories from the worlds top 10 food crops were 1 percent less annually than they would have been without the impact of climate change. Surveys show the potential for drought tops peoples climate concerns worldwide, but when it comes to growing crops, says Hope Michelson, an assistant professor of agriculture and consumer economics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, "its not just the amount of rain" that matters. Crops are also sensitive to variations in how quickly that rain falls, high and low temperature extremes, the frequency and intensity of storms and the length and timing of growing periods.

Food crops that can withstand such conditions will be increasingly important, and much discussion around climate-friendly food focuses on consumer choices and what they mean for broader adoption of these crops. Essentially, there has to be a market for climate-resilient foods to have a significant impact. Consumers can vote with purchasing dollars to support farmers who grow foods that will persist in difficult conditions, and those that require fewer resources.

But outside factors, the food and beverage industries among them, exert influence over our choices. While data on adults is mixed, research shows that food marketing strongly influences children. A 2009 article in the Annual Review of Public Health found evidence "that television food advertising increases childrens preferences for the foods advertised and their requests to parents for those foods." A more recent look at the data in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded, "Evidence to date shows that acute exposure to food advertising increases food intake in children but not in adults."

Essentially, there has to be a market for climate-resilient foods to have a significant impact. Consumers can vote with purchasing dollars.

Still, while most researchers recognize the importance of large-scale actions, such as those by large companies and government regulations, to influence the food system, many emphasize that individual food choices also can have an impact.

"You can most definitely make a movement with your pocketbook," says Samantha Mosier, an assistant professor in the political science department at East Carolina University. She points to trends in soda consumption, which has declined significantly in recent years. "Some of this has been brought on by the millennial generation trying to be healthier and to avoid some of the pitfalls of our older generation," Mosier says. Soda giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi areinvesting in lower sugar options such as kombucha, coconut water and sparkling water.

"When you think about land use and the predictions for climate change, much of it depends on consumer preferences," says Christine Foyer, a professor of plant sciences at University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. "People decide what they eat, and economics drives the crops which drives the science. Everybody matters."

Climate-resilient plants

Environmentally sensitive eating often focuses on reducing meat consumption, and for good reason. "The environmental cost particularly of beef is enormous," Foyer says. Last year in the journal Science, researchers estimated that globally, "[m]oving from current diets to a diet that excludes animal products has transformative potential, reducing foods land use by (7.7 billion acres)" and greenhouse gas emissions by about 7.3 billion tons.

But plant-based choices matter too.

In the future, plants ability to withstand extreme conditions will become critical. Scientists are working to increase hardiness in todays staple crops such as wheat and corn through gene editing, genetic engineering and traditional breeding to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis, reduce water requirements and resist pests. In China, for example, researchers have used CRISPR to develop a strain of wheat that resists powdery mildew, a damaging fungal growth predicted to worsen with climate change. Meanwhile in India, the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) developed early-maturing groundnuts to help farmers harvest before drought. Farmers who adopted these varietals earned an additional $119 per 2.5 acres, according to the organization.

Scientists are working to increase hardiness in todays staple crops such as wheat and corn ... to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis, reduce water requirements and resist pests.

Foyer also points to legumes and pulses which include fava beans, cowpeas, chickpeas and lentils because "they have their own nitrogen fertilization," reducing the need for fertilizers. Nitrogen-based fertilizers require energy to produce, can cause pollution and marine die-off when runoff enters streams and waterways, and may contribute to global warming as source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Yet another climate-friendly option is sea vegetables. Seaweeds such as kelp are farming powerhouses: high nutrition value; fast growing; and zero land use for growing. Not only that, but "when you grow kelp, youre growing it in ocean water and [the kelp is] absorbing carbon dioxide," Wheat says. "And when you suck up that carbon dioxide, you also change the pH and reduce the consequences of ocean acidification."

Changes require work

Not all climate-resilient foods are new and unusual. Okra, mushrooms, sweet potatoes and pomegranates are all resilient choices in many regions. So, too are edible "weeds"such as dandelion and burdock, which are hardy enough to survive our efforts to eliminate them. Yet as warming gets more extreme, researchers say we may have to adopt less familiar foods.

For many people, that wont be easy. What we eat has deep cultural significance, rich in memories and meaning. We cling to what we know, and changes require work. Then there are economic considerations, says Mosier. When people are concerned about the economy, food choices based on environmental impacts can take a back seat to simply putting enough food on the table.

Some recent examples point to how changing diets isnt impossible. Quinoa and the Impossible Burger, a plant-based burger masquerading as beef, are two recent success stories that at first seemed unlikely to win over U.S. consumers. The Chicago Tribune reported in 2016, "Americans consume more than half the global production of quinoa, which totaled [34,000 metric tons] in 2012. Twenty years earlier, production was merely [544 metric tons]." The Impossible Burger, although it makes up a small percentage of the U.S. meat market, is for sale in more than 15,000 restaurants in the United States, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. It has been so popular that the company experienced a production shortage last summer, soon after announcing a partnership with Burger King. Production has caught up with the surging demand, and diners can find Impossible meat at White Castle, Red Robin and a host of smaller restaurants, as well as at grocery stores.

These foods owe their rise in large part to marketing and lobbying dollars, but there are other ways to find success. Anastasia Bodnar, policy director of Biology Fortified, a nonprofit organization focusing on issues in agriculture and biotechnology, says that chefs and restaurants also can have an impact on how people think about food.

"If you can make it cool, make it sexy, make it something that people want to see, thats going to end up in the news, then that interest gets perked up and then the market goes along with it," Bodnar says. "You see all kinds of weird invasive fish on menus that have been rebranded with different names."

If you can make it cool, make it sexy, make it something that people want to see, thats going to end up in the news, then that interest gets perked up and then the market goes along with it.

Whether familiar or foreign, our food crops will need to feed an increasing number of people in an increasingly hostile environment in the future. While structural, top-down change may be necessary to shift the entire food system to one that will weather the effects of climate disruption, such changes can be influenced by individual choices.

Back in Israel, on farms in the dry and salty desert, sea beans grow green in seawater. In India, rows of millet persist through drought. And in the frigid but warming waters around Seattle, kelp forests undulate with the tides. Such foods reduce pressure for climate-unfriendly land use change and thrive in environments that make other plants shrivel. That is, they are suited for the future which means we, too, can be more resilient to change.

Editors note: Jenny Morbers travel and access to researchers at Israels Ben Gurion University of the Negev was paid for and provided by the Murray Fromson Journalism Fellowship.

Read more here:
As the planet warms, unusual crops could become climate saviors if we're willing to eat them - GreenBiz