Category Archives: Diet And Food

Id like to begin this by saying my daughter is the quintessential American kid when it comes to her diet. Shes three years old and on a wholesome diet of mac n cheese, pizza bites, peanut butter, french fries, and goldfish crackers. What healthy foods? Corn (not that healthy) and fruits where her preference changes so much I cant keep up. And thats about it. The closest thing to green I can sneak in are those snap pea crisps, and thats only because Ive sneakily coined them green french fries. So when Misha Collins and his wife Vicki, (who are already two of my parenting role models) announced they were writing a cookbook entitled The Adventurous Eaters Club with the outward goal of getting kids to try new (and healthy!) foods, I was listening.

First, I was relieved to see at one point his kids ate just like mine. Let me tell you, despite the fact that the majority of the population takes up the task, parenting can be a lonely and isolating place especially in this age of social media and high standards that differ from person to person, and somehow youre supposed to live up to them all. Everyone (myself included) fills their Instagrams and Facebook pages with all these picture perfect moments, strategically leaving out those mid-dinner tantrums because god forbid we arent eating graham crackers and M&Ms for dinner. So, when youre sitting there at the dining room table trying to reason with a completely unreasonable miniature version of yourself about the benefits (and necessity) of eating, those pretty pictures of your old college roommates family at Disney smiling from ear to ear (and somehow they got everyone looking at the camera?) flash through your head and the failure sets in. So when that celebrity youve looked up since before your kids, and maybe even your husband, openly speaking about struggling with the same things you do, its oddly comforting. Even if that thing is just your toddlers bad eating habits.

Image courtesy of Co-Director, Kaity Bolding

When I took on the task of reviewing this book, at first I wondered, How do you review a cookbook? Now, Im not the greatest in the kitchen. I get by, I have a few signatures, but Im not adventurous. In fact, I may have a similar palate to my toddler. (I know, now youre thinking And you expected your kid to be any different?) I make the same dishes my family grew up making, and have added one or two of my own, but lets just say new foods are a bit daunting to me. So, this was going to be a lesson for both of us (and my husband who stood back and played clean up crew) as I decided the best way to give my unbiased opinion, was going to be to test these theories and a few of the recipes. And we did. We (and I mean me, shes three and still choosing snacks!) decided on Leaf Chips and Mix n Match Fried Chicken. Not too daring, but two things my three year old could safely gets hands on with, and as the book explains (youll see soon), start slow.

However, before we began, I knew I had to do something to get her interested. Shes a pretty active kid, she loves doing stuff with the family and being involved, but I wanted her to also feel like this was her own, too. So we went off to Target (did I just want to excuse to go to Target? Maybe ) and got her her own special cooking tool she chose her own wooden spoon and a few small bowls for her impending food experimentation (again, youll know soon). Thankfully, I had all the ingredients needed for our chosen recipes, so off we went all while I laughed to myself about the futility of this, Charlotte, eat kale? Preposterous

Another great thing about this book is it gives you ideas for what your child can do to help prepare. Turns out, I had a lot less faith in my kid than she deserved. She prepped the kale basically by herself; she washed it, dried it, and tore off the chips before stirring them with her shiny new wooden spoon (and her hands) in the oil and salt she added to the mixing bowl. Was too much olive oil used? You betcha. Are our leaf chips extra salted? Yes they are. But hey, they cooked just fine, so I considered it a win. Now, the moment of truth. One of the points the Collins try and hammer home in their miracle book is that a child is more interested in eating something they helped prepare, and it was time to test this theory.

Now, remember, my kid has never touched a leafy green, and it wasnt from lack of trying. So, I put our first batch of leaf chips onto a plate, turned to her (now elbows deep in pumpkin. We started this undertaking the day before Halloween), and offered her one of her chips. Charlotte, do you want one of your chips? Oh yeah! She leapt up, looked at this pile of crispy green leaves, grabbed one with a huge smile and ateit. Yeah, she ate it. All of it. And then went back for a second one. No bribing, no trickery, no begging she ate kale. Then, post-pumpkin de-gutting, she took an entire bowl of them into the living room to eat as her afternoon snack. Project one: a success.

Next was dinner. Like I said above, we decided on Mix n Match Fried Chicken, which is chicken breaded with three different herbs parsley, paprika, and cinnamon and then oven-fried. Oh, also, its supposed to have flour mixed in too, and we didnt. Got a little overzealous Anyway, the book calls for improvisation and creativity, so well say that was the intention (its not, we forgot). Husband and I prepped the dishes and chicken as she eagerly stood behind us, her words a string of incoherent excitement as she watched us getting her next project ready. As we set it up on the table, she donned her apron (that she already has a newfound love for) and got to work with the three trays of herbs before her. At first she was a little taken aback by getting her hands dirty (shes oddly clean for a toddler) but got over it as she realized that bland, boring chicken was turning green as she rolled it in the parsley. By the time wed hit round two through the spices, she could barely decide which color she wanted the next chicken strip to be would it be cinnamon brown or paprika red? We didnt know, she was in the drivers seat and let me tell you, it was a real joy to watch. In the end, two red, two brown, and a shocking three green ended up on the baking sheet to be popped into the oven.

So here we were again dinner. Dinner is a battlefield in this house. She never wants to sit at the table let alone eat, so I told myself not to get my hopes up, but I should have had faith in the texts. Did she eat her whole plate? Not even close. However, this was the most interested Ive seen her in dinner that wasnt one of her staples in what feels like forever (in toddler parent language thats about a month). She ended up eating her entire piece of cinnamon chicken which is more chicken than Ive gotten her to even attempt since she become an independent little woman with her own standards and rules (so about two years) and for the first time in her life tried her baked potato (which she helped wash before cooking).

Image courtesy of Co-Director, Kaity Bolding

If youd asked me last week if Id ever try chicken breaded in cinnamon Id have said no way, but the thing with parenting is you gotta put your money where your mouth is. And my mouth had to be on the cinnamon chicken. And you know what? It ended up being my favorite of the three, plus, my house smells amazing now. So whether its you, your own child, a family member, or a friend, this book will benefit the sous chef in all of us adventurous or not. The recipes are easy and quick, and honestly all of them can be adjusted to be something even I would eat (except maybe those Culinary Frontiers reminiscent of that classic cooking show Cooking Fast and Fresh with West ). Make sure to keep an eye for the informative and insightful Wests Tips at the bottom of some recipes, too.

Charlotte isstillwearing her apron now hours later, alternating between the kale chips and pumpkin seeds she helped prepare this afternoon as we settled down before bed. And remember, this was the same kid that as of yesterday was firmly set in her ways of goldfish crackers or mac n cheese. Not every individuals journey will be the same, but you can trust me when I say the knowledge, tips, tricks, and recipes in this book are the perfect starting point to bring about a healthier diet and lifestyle for all of us.

Theres still a long way to go in my family, but this a marathon not a race, and this was a great testament to how fun the journey can be.

The Adventurous Eaters Club hits shelves on November 5. You can pre-order the book on Amazon here.

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Review: Our Initiation Into Misha Collins' 'The Adventurous Eaters Club' - Nerds and Beyond

DURHAM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--trumacro Nutrition today announced the launch of its Inspiring The Key to Change campaign during Obesity Week 2019, the annual joint meeting of The Obesity Society and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. The campaigns mission is to facilitate accurate and evidence-based conversation on the science of nutritional ketosis for the dietary support of patients with certain medical conditions and disorders, to help patients and caregivers achieve a clear understanding of nutritional ketosis, and to elevate the role of dietary management in overall societal health.

The Inspiring The Key to Change campaign enables health care providers, patients, advocacy groups, and professional bodies to engage with each other, inform each other, as well as unlock and embrace the health potential offered by nutritional ketosis through ketogenic science, said Lee Knight, president of trumacro Nutrition. Patients, caregivers, and health care professionals need to be grounded in correct science, benefits, and drawbacks of nutritional ketosis to aid them in making informed choices about whether nutritional ketosis is right for them in the dietary management of their medical conditions. At trumacro, our sense of duty and responsibility to patients and the healthcare providers who treat them drives us to help accurately inform and provide the forum for mutual education and dialogue through Inspiring The Key to Change.

Inspiring The Key to Change relies on evidence-based research, both past and evolving, to drive informed conversation among all stakeholders. An overarching goal is to ensure educational materials, evolving research, continuous category updates, discussion forums, and expert insights, are all available to bring the most current information and insights to all stakeholders and facilitate open dialogue that advances the field.

We are excited to be working alongside trumacro on the Inspiring The Key to Change campaign to provide information about diet therapies for people with epilepsy, other neurological disorders, and select cancers, said Jim Abrahams, Executive Director of the Charlie Foundation.

As part of the effort to increase awareness of ketogenic nutrition, trumacro has collaborated with the Charlie Foundation a non-profit organization founded in 1994 to provide vital resources for health professionals and the public for disorders that can benefit from ketogenic therapies, including epilepsy, other neurological disorders, endocrine and autoimmune disorders, and certain cancers. trumacro has also partnered with VitalSigns Wellness, the wellness division of Trinity Medical Associates. VitalSigns exists to provide a solution to the epidemic of lifestyle-induced chronic diseases, including diabetes and pre-diabetes. In conjunction with their physician partners at Trinity Medical Associates, VitalSigns seeks to continually improve their capacity to prevent and reverse disease in a way that is accessible to everyone and will change the practice of medicine.

It is the right time to partner with trumacro Nutrition to launch the Inspiring The Key to Change campaign to continue the momentum on dietary management in family medicine, said Randy T. Pardue, M.D., founding partner of Trinity Medical Associates and VitalSigns Wellness. At Trinity Medical Associates, we have found that most patients with diabetes or pre-diabetes can safely reverse their disease through nutritional ketosis. Nevertheless, it is important to understand all sides from benefits to negative opinions of the conversation surrounding nutritional ketosis before making a decision to change your lifestyle, and to have a conversation with your doctor to jointly determine if its the right choice for you.

About trumacro Nutrition

trumacro is the science-based leader in education and innovation for easy-to-access ketogenic products that boost overall nutrition and wellness for patients. trumacro is committed to improving lives through the therapeutic use of ketogenic (low-carb, high-fat) foods. trumacro applies a scientific approach to designing its products, which include ketogenic meals, a beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) product designed to aid the body in entering ketosis, and a BHB + medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) product designed to help increase and sustain elevated ketone levels. This rigorous formulation science is then extended into clinical research, designed to support the nutritional and dietary requirements of patients with a variety of medical disorders. trumacro began delivering ketogenic meals to institutions in August 2019. For more information, please visit http://www.trumacro.com

About The Charlie Foundation

The Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies was founded in 1994 to provide information about diet therapies for people with epilepsy, other neurological disorders and select cancers. Charlie Abrahams continues to be the inspiration for the foundation, working as a pre-school teacher, and proving that epilepsy can be cured through ketogenic therapy. For more information, please visit https://charliefoundation.org

About Trinity Medical Associates and VitalSigns Wellness

At Trinity Medical Associates, our goal is to provide excellent and compassionate medical care for the entire family. We know that arriving at a diagnosis takes more than just analyzing the chart it takes really listening to our patients. At VitalSigns Wellness, we are disease reversal specialists utilizing the most current evidence-based science of behavior change. Trinity Medical Associates can manage most healthcare needs for you and your family. Our facility is equipped with the most advanced equipment, a walk-in clinic for your urgent needs, a dispensary where we can fill most of your medication needs, a gastrointestinal suite for screening and diagnostic colonoscopies and EGDs, a treadmill for stress tests, and facilities for minor surgical procedures. For more information, please visit http://www.trinitymedical.net and https://www.vitalsignswellness.com

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trumacro Nutrition Launches Inspiring The Key To Change Campaign to Elevate Conversations About Nutritional Ketosis in Medical Conditions - Business...

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Created for Greatist by the experts at Healthline. Read more

Youre sitting at your desk mid-morning when it hits exhaustion with a headache on the side. As you shakily punch in an Uber Eats order, you kick yourself for leaving the emergency snack on the kitchen counter. Whats the deal? Youre probably experiencing hypoglycemia (aka low blood sugar).

For most of us latte-sippers and late-night noshers, an occasional sugar crash is pretty normal (at least in college, amiright?). Hypoglycemia isnt a disease, but it can indicate an underlying health problem.

Heres the lowdown:

Low blood sugar happens when there isnt enough glucose (aka sugar) in your bloodstream. Glucose comes from carbs. Whether from an apple or a slice of pizza, the carbs-turned-glucose fuel your body with the help of insulin, another critical player. When glucose levels get low, your body cant function on all cylinders.

Technically, hypoglycemia occurs when your blood sugar is below 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL). According to the American Diabetes Association, those with diabetes or other blood sugar issues should get a meter or wearable continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to keep blood sugar levels in check.

Interestingly, the most common cause of super low blood sugar is diabetes medication. People with diabetes take insulin because their bodies dont produce enough of it naturally. But sometimes the insulin dose is too much, or the person hasnt eaten enough to need the insulin.

For people without diabetes, hypoglycemia can be caused by:

Theres also something called reactive hypoglycemia (postprandial hypoglycemia) that occurs several hours after your last meal. Its likely related to a disrupted eating schedule, like skipping your usual breakfast or drinking alcohol without food.

Hypoglycemia is just a fancy translation of your cells screaming, Halllp, feed me some glucose! As blood sugar dips, you might feel weak, annoyed, or jittery hangry, in a word. This woozy cocktail of symptoms indicates that fuel levels are dropping into unhealthy territory.

Immediate effects of hypoglycemia can include:

Frequent low blood sugar isnt something to ignore. Hypoglycemia may be a sign of a deeper medical condition, and starving your cells of glucose too often or for too long can cause unpleasant complications down the road.

You know the cartoon dog sipping coffee in a burning room? Thats your brain dealing with hypoglycemia unawareness.

Having frequent low blood sugar can trick your body into thinking hypoglycemia is normal. Without symptoms like tremors, headaches, or weakness, the body continues operating in an unhealthy state, increasing the risk for life-threatening complications.

Instead of waiting for your body to adapt to a toxic situation, talk to your doctor if youre experiencing hypoglycemia often. In the meantime, ward off low blood sugar by noshing on small snacks throughout the day.

Dangerously low blood sugar sometimes causes seizures. The risk is higher for those with diabetes who take insulin to control their blood sugar. An insulin overdose can induce sudden hypoglycemia, affecting the central nervous system in a bad way.

In rare cases, low blood sugar could cause a blackout, coma, or even death. Think about it, glucose is the bodys fuel, and you can only run on empty for so long. Death can eventually occur as a result of depriving your brain of crucial energy.

Blacking out can cause other issues too. If youre feeling lightheaded or unstable, its best to stay put. Losing consciousness, falling, and hitting your head only makes a bad situation worse.

Frequent hypoglycemia can eventually affect the brain. A 2013 study found that older diabetic patients who experienced dangerously low blood sugar were twice as likely to develop dementia. This suggests that keeping blood sugar in check could help lower your risk of memory loss later in life.

So what can you safely do when your blood sugar drops?

Heres how to boost glucose back into the safe zone:

For people with diabetes, blood sugar levels can swing hard and fast. Its always best to keep a blood sugar monitor handy. But if youre feeling lightheaded or shaky and dont have a way to check your blood sugar, treat yourself for hypoglycemia anyway.

15-15 steps:

Theres no sweeter way to add glucose to your bloodstream than a spoonful of sugar or honey. Another option is Glucogel, a non-prescription, thick syrup available at any drugstore. If you have a tube of Glucogel on hand, squirt it inside your cheeks for fast absorption.

Remember to wait 15 to 20 minutes before you eat more. Youre looking for a natural boost of energy, not a sugar high.

Never force-feed someone losing consciousness (choking hazard alert!). Instead, if your friend has diabetes and is fading fast, its time to bust out a glucagon shot. Glucagon injections are for medical emergencies, like when someone with extremely low blood sugar is unconscious or too disoriented to consume sugar.

After using a glucagon injection (or calling 911 if you dont have one), lay the person on their side in the recovery position.

The best way to treat low blood sugar? Prevent it from happening in the first place.

Avoid hypoglycemia by fueling your body with frequent nutritious meals and snacks. Focus on a hypoglycemia diet rich in complex carbs and low in sugar content.

Read more:
Low Blood Sugar Effects: Symptoms, Risks, Remedies and More - Greatist

As we enter the holiday season, we say goodbye to summers fresh berries, watermelons, and heirloom tomatoes only to say hello to pumpkins, sweet potatoes, pomegranates, and a handful of herbs and spices. By allowing our diet to change with the seasons, we create a natural diversity in our nutrition that supports us for the time of year. A 2001 study done in Japan found a three-fold difference in the vitamin C content of spinach harvested in the summer versus the winter.

Climate changes the resources given to the plant and in turn affects the nutrient content of food. In our modern times, we have access to just about any kind of food at any time of the year. Unfortunately, this access is a disadvantage to the health of our bodies and to the environment.

Spices and herbs like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, peppermint, and more not only evoke nostalgia via our senses, but also can be used to support our health during one of the busiest times of the year. The incredible thing about herbs over pharmaceutical medications is they approach health issues holistically by having a wide range of physiologic effects.

CINNAMON

Cinnamon not only makes pumpkin pie hit the spot, but it is also a powerhouse spice that exerts its benefits with as little as one-half teaspoon per day. This spice is best known for its ability to balance blood sugar to combat diabetes, but is also helpful for the immune, cardiovascular, and digestive system. It contains antioxidant compounds that rival exotic superfood berries, wine, and dark chocolate to remove toxins from our bodies.

These antioxidants reduce inflammation and swelling to support pain management in muscle soreness, PMS pain, severity of allergic reactions, and other age-related pains. Higher doses that can be taken via supplementation have an even larger impact on age-related pains, memory loss, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

CLOVES

Cloves are a versatile spice that can be used both in sweet and savory dishes. The dried flower buds from a tropical tree, cloves originate from Indonesia, and are used often in Ayurvedic medicine. They are helpful as a home remedy to fight both fungal and bacterial infections and to reduce pain.

Clove oil on a cotton ball can help to reduce pain in a toothache or inflammation of the gums. It simultaneously can draw out an infection that could be causing the toothache.

A tea of loosened cloves can be helpful when affected by a respiratory infection. It not only has antimicrobial properties, but can also loosen chest mucus and reduce sore throat pain.

NUTMEG

A little bit of nutmeg and a dusting of this spice goes a long way with mood, memory, appetite and digestion, and skin health. Nutmeg can reduce anxiety and improve sleep. The essential oil can be safely used on the temples to support mood and sleep.

Two compounds in nutmeg, myristicin andmacelignan, have been shown in research to improve memory and protect against age-related neurodegeneration.

As mentioned, a small amount really goes a long way. Unlike cinnamon, excess amounts of nutmeg can have deleterious effects like heart palpitations, sweating, hallucinations, and other side effects, so exercise caution when using this spice.

PEPPERMINT

Peppermint is best known for its ability to support healthy digestion. Research has continued to support this age-old remedy to improve the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Peppermint helps to relax the muscles of the digestive system to relieve indigestion and gas.

In addition to digestive support via tea or oil, topical peppermint essential oil can help muscle pain and headaches.

GINGER

As with many of the herbs and spices of fall and winter, ginger is sure to warm you from the inside out. This spice is readily accessible in many different forms, including raw, powdered, tea, and essential oil. Ginger is best known for its ability to sooth nausea, but it casts a wide net of beneficence from heart disease to infections.

Like garlic and onions, ginger helps to prevent our blood from easily clotting to impact heart disease and stroke. For a more day-to-day use, ginger also helps relax the smooth muscles of the intestines to reduce bloating and improve your bodys ability to utilize food nutrients. With its warming properties, it is able to stoke the metabolism and is a great addition to a green smoothie or soup during the colder seasons.

In many countries around the world, spices and herbs are not only used to add dynamic flavors but also to heal common conditions. This holiday season, use your herbs and spices to get into the spirit of the season knowing that their benefits go far beyond delighting your senses.

Thalia Farshchian is a naturopathic doctor specializing in chronic complex diseases including Lyme disease and mold illness. For more information, visit medicaloptionsforwellness.net.

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Health benefits of the holiday season - Marinatimes

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So now it's finally official. After five weeks of fact-finding behind the closed doors of the House Intelligence Committee, the full House of Representatives has now voted (along party lines, except for two Democrats who opposed the measure) to bring a full-fledged impeachment case against President Trump. What will follow is likely to be several weeks of public hearings and witness testimony followed by a vote on one or more articles of impeachment. If a majority votes in favor of at least one of them, a trial in the Senate will commence soon afterward, the outcome of which will be either acquittal of the president or his removal from office.

None of us knows for sure what the end result of the impeachment process will be. What we can know is that this is the last stand for the Republican Party as we knew it up until the 2016 election cycle.

Over and over again we've been told that the old guard and its high ideals has been defeated, vanquished, and humiliated by the Trump insurgency. And that's true to a considerable extent. It's true on policy, where the GOP's long-standing positions on international affairs, trade, and immigration have crumbled one by one, prompting fleeting bouts of grumbling but little beyond that. It's also true on even longer-standing conservative adherence to principles of constitutionalism, public rectitude, and the rule of law, which under Trump has become quite a bit more selective than it once was.

Tying the party's fate to a trash-talking racist and misogynist who traffics in conspiracy theories, lies constantly, and displays greater affection for foreign autocrats than he does for members of the opposition party will do that.

But that doesn't mean every Republican in Washington is happy about it. They may have sold their souls in public, but many of them are consumed by disgust and self-loathing in private. That's one reason why so many Republican members of the House are lining up to retire because the gonzo politics on display at last week's sham "protest" of House intelligence committee hearings on possible Trump law breaking and abuse of power, like today's garbage talk about how strictly adhering to constitutional procedures on impeachment amounts to following "Soviet-style rules," is motivated by a soulless craving for power at all costs. And not everyone is willing to say and do anything and everything for the sake of power.

The fact is that the Republican base, fed a diet of ideologically based conspiracies and malicious half-truths by talk radio and Fox News for decades, is furiously angry and deeply attached to their profane tribune in the Oval Office. It's also the case that lots of Republican House members represent districts that are safely in the GOP column. That creates a strong incentive for anyone who wants to remain in Washington to turn themselves into Trump minions and defenders both to encourage constituents to vote and to prevent a primary challenge from the Trumpist right. That's what holding onto power now requires.

But the dynamic in the Senate is different. Yes, the threat of primary challenges is always there, too. But senators represent entire states. Some of them are safely red. But many others are filled with millions of Democrats and independents. The further right a senator moves and the more he or she embraces an obviously corrupt and deeply unpopular president, the more vulnerable he or she might become in a future general election campaign against a compelling Democrat.

If the case against Trump is thin if independents end up unimpressed by the evidence presented against him by the Democrats hardly any Republican senators (perhaps not even Mitt Romney) will vote to convict and remove the president. They'll claim what Trump did with Ukraine was bad, but not bad enough to justify use of the constitution's nuclear option.

But if the case is strong if a series of credible, manifestly patriotic and law-abiding citizens portray the president as a lawless thug who considers it perfectly acceptable to strong-arm weak foreign governments into helping him cheat to keep power and independents continue to be scandalized by the evidence, then all bets are off.

The idea that the Senate would remove an impeached president for the first time in American history when the president's own party holds the majority and that this would happen in such a sharply polarized moment, when the president's own-party approval remains around 90 percent seems fanciful. But that doesn't mean it won't happen or can't happen.

It could and it might. If it does, it will be because sufficient numbers of old-line, non-populist Republican senators come to see it as their last stand their last opportunity to act as a force for the public good rather than an enabler of a criminal enterprise cheered on by a mob motivated by ignorance and malice.

Will the party fold, falling into line behind Trump, as it has so many times over the past four years? Probably. But it won't if its members recall that their job isn't to do whatever the voters demand regardless of whether it's reasonable. Their job is to listen to those demands and then do what they consider right and good for the country and the Constitution they've taken an oath to preserve, protect, and defend.

Republicans used to care about such things. We're about to find out if they still do.

Read more:
Last stand of the Grand Old Party - The Week

Alcohol plays a prevalent role in many cultures, with many of us toasting to big life moments, enjoying happy hours with coworkers or friends, or simply indulging in a few drinks after a long, stressful day.

Of course, health experts have long cautioned against binge drinking, which roughly equates to consuming five or more drinks for men and four or more drinks for women in about two hours. If you've ever overindulged in your favorite drinks, you know that it typically doesn't feel great the next day, and repeated alcohol abuse can impact your mental and physical health.

But research has also shown that drinking alcohol in moderation can actually be beneficial for your health in some surprising ways.

Here are some of the most interesting ways drinking in moderation can benefit you, so long as you consume it safely and responsibly.

Read this article:
11 health benefits that have been linked to drinking alcohol in moderation - INSIDER

Foods associated with better health also have the lowest impact on the environment, a new study finds. This suggests that a few key dietary changes could present a double win for humans, and the planet.

The new analysis, led by the Oxford University, revealed several intriguing overlaps between diet, human, and environmental health. For example, increasing the consumption of typically healthy foods like wholegrains, nuts, and vegetables was found to produce a low relative risk for diabetes, coronary heart disease, and general mortality. And crucially, the impact of these foods on environmental ills like greenhouse gas emissions, acidification, and land-use was also negligible, compared to other foods.

At the other extreme, the researchers found that processed red meat was conversely associated with the highest risk of diabetes, coronary heart disease, and general mortality. Whats more, processed red meat also had the biggest negative effects on greenhouse gas emissions, acidification, and land-use.

This exposed a general pattern in the study: overall, foods with lower health impacts also had lower environmental impacts, while those with larger health impacts were worse for the planets health, as well. Human dietary health, it seems, is inextricably intertwined with the planets health, too.

There were a couple of foodie exceptions to this, including sugary drinks, and fish. While fizzy drinks loaded with sugar boost the risk of diabetes, some cancers, and heart disease, the researchers found that their effects on the environment are comparatively negligible. And substituting fish for red meat is known to bring huge benefits to human health but its environmental record isnt ideal.

Interestingly, the researchers also found that if a food improved one indicator of health like diabetes it was typically associated with positive effects on other aspects of health, too. This was similarly true for the environment: foods that had low impacts on indicators like ocean acidification, say, would typically have positive effects on all other environmental indicators.

In other words, foods may have specific effects on health and the planet, but their impacts also tend to be either overwhelmingly positive or harmful to our health and the environment, overall.

To reveal this interesting interplay, the researchers looked at fifteen of the most commonly-consumed foods including processed and unprocessed red meat, chicken, eggs, fish, dairy, fruits, legumes, olive oil, cereals, and nuts and then examined the health and environmental impacts associated with a daily serving of each one. To drill down to the health effects of each food, they looked at whether it increased the risk of Type II diabetes, stroke, coronary heart disease, colorectal cancer, and overall mortality. Then, to grasp how these dietary changes would affect the environment, they weighed up the effects on greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, acidification and eutrophication.

What makes the findings unique is that, typically, studies consider the impact of diet on health or the environment in isolation. But by combining the two, this study reveals instances where carefully-crafted policies could deliver a potent double-dose of change for humans and the environment.

One clear example emerged with processed red meat the worst offender against human and environmental health. Targeted policies to reduce the health effects of processed red meats would be a no-brainer for protecting the planet, too, the researchers suggest.

Take the fact that almost 40% of global morbidity is caused by diseases that are now linked to poor diet and a rise in meat consumption thats unfolding across the planet will likely only worsen those stats. Thats clearly a ticking time bomb for human and environmental health. But, changing our diets has incredible latent power to defuse it if we recognise its power to salve the two at once.

We now know that making our nutrition a priority will pay dividends for the Earth, as well, the researchers say.

Read more:
A diet that's good for you is also good for the planetand vice versa - Anthropoce

Maangchi eating kimbap in Central Park. Photo: Christian Rodriguez

Maangchi is the kimchee queen of YouTube. Her fans are devoted the musician Japanese Breakfast called her a hero and her charmingly joyful cooking videos, focused on recipes like kimchee, tteokbokki , or Korean dinner rolls can rack up millions of views. This week, Maangchi (whose real name is Emily Kim) released her second book, Maangchis Big Book of Korean Cooking, which has recipes for Buddhist vegan cooking and a whole chapter on Korean lunchbox meals. My Korean fans are just surprised because I make food a very old-fashioned way, she says. All the time, food is changing. Maangchi really loves to cook, and this week made bulgogi lettuce wraps for her family, got her favorite baguette from Maison Kayserto eat with sopressata, and got really excited about the mackerel she found at Hanyang Mart in Flushing. Read all about it in this weeks Grub Street Diet.

Thursday, October 24First thing I do every morning is to have a cup of coffee. These days I really love Variety coffee, from Brooklyn. Almost every one of theirs I try is delicious. I have a subscription and they deliver the beans to my house, freshly roasted. I use an Aeropress, I like my coffee light but flavorful, and nutty. Makes me alert. Then I start with my smoothie for a happy life.

More than two years ago I watched a Korean TV show on YouTube and I saw a man talking about the green smoothie hed been making every morning for years. He talked about his cholesterol going down and all that stuff but what really got my attention was when he mentioned his freckles disappearing from his face! Okay, I was listening! I bought a Vitamix!

Ever since then, Ive never skipped my morning smoothie unless Im traveling, and my fridge is always full of fresh fruit and vegetables. I use grapes, kale, celery, spinach, lemon, apple, pear (or pineapple or peach), tomato, and omija (schisandra berries) along with a big spoonful of Greek yogurt.

I buy my fruits and vegetables from Whole Foods, Food Emporium, Union Square Greenmarket, or Amish Market, wherever I can find good fresh produce. This is for my health so I always remove all the bruised parts, always. I dont want any oxidized stuff in my body, so each ingredient has to pass my test.

After my smoothie I had a nice Korean persimmon, too. Called dan-gam () in Korean and Fuyu persimmon in English, I bought them at Hanyang Mart in Flushing last weekend. They are in season and very sweet, firm and crispy. I got a whole box for $12.

I had some abalone in the freezer that I bought from a Korean website run out of California called Wooltari Mall that sells wonderful, high-end Korean ingredients imported from Korea. I had ordered a dozen of abalone from them and these were the last four. I found this website after I went to Korea to learn about Korean red pepper flakes, gochugaru how they make it, and how they harvest it. (Because my readers always asked me, Which one should I buy to make kimchee? But I didnt always know the exact answer. So I would tell them, Maybe the most expensive one.) Then I went to some place famous for Korean hot peppers, where I found the really best-quality ones. Theyre sold in America, including through this website.

So, I chopped up the abalone after removing the sand sack and mouth (but not the intestines those are nutty and delicious!) and fried them with soaked rice, garlic, and sesame oil. I added water and chopped carrot and green onion for a quick, easy, and delicious porridge. With such a small amount of rice, its good food for a diet, because it makes a lot of porridge. I kept the leftovers in the fridge for later.

But the porridge didnt have many carbs so I was hungry by 4 p.m. My stomach was asking for more so I had some frozen bread rolls, reheated in the microwave oven. It was a great snack with a glass of milk! The rolls are made from my original Korean roll-ppang dinner rolls recipe. I used to make them for my children all the time in Korea when they were growing up, so it was fun to share the recipe and hear about my viewers making them for their own families! I feel very attached to them.

I had a lot of promotion work to do for my new cookbook. On Friday, I was going to film a video for Vice on how to make the bulgogi wrap lunchbox recipe from the book, so even though Im familiar with this recipe I wanted to make them again. A spoonful of warm rice on a sheet of lettuce, a touch of ssamjang (Korean spicy dipping paste made with fermented soybean paste), and the bulgogi on top, simple and delicious. The bulgogi was made with ribeye, thinly sliced. You have to put it in the freezer for one hour before preparing it so that it gets hard enough to slice thinly. One thing I like about this recipe is that one pound of meat is enough for four people once you add in all the rice and lettuce.

My family and I ate the bulgogi lettuce wraps for dinner and we loved them. I served them with mugwort soup made from mugwort (which is ssuk in Korean) I foraged from Riverside Park in May. I blanched and froze that in bunches and have been using it bit by bit ever since. I boiled the mugwort with water, dried anchovies, garlic, and homemade fermented soybean paste (doenjang). When the soup was done I took out the anchovies and served. Its crazy delicious and flavorful. It went well with the bulgogi lettuce wrap and I didnt even need kimchee!

Friday, October 25Started with my coffee and smoothie, same routine.

It was a special day as I needed to be at Vice in Williamsburg to film a video at 12:30 p.m. I knew it would take an hour from my home, so I decided to have an early light lunch so that when I filmed I wouldnt be hungry. I had a bowl of rice and my one-year-old perilla leaf pickles (kkaenip-jjangaji) made with my perilla leaves I grew on my balcony. I sometimes feel like just rice and pickles, or rice and kimchee it makes for a great meal, full of flavor. And I wont be distracted by any other side dishes, I can just concentrate on one!

The shoot at Vice was great, I made six wraps in a lunchbox. For the finale I ate one big wrap on-camera. I said, Dont tease me, I have a big mouth! The crew laughed and encouraged me to stuff the whole wrap into my mouth even though it was too big! Later I asked them to edit that part out, but lets see if they do it.

I had brought some of my homemade kimchee and perilla-leaf pickles for the producers and crew at Vice. They loved them. All through the summertime, I eat perilla leaf. Every day I pick it and wrap it around Korean barbecue, rice, and ssamjang and just eat it. This is really my happiness meal.

These days I love anything heirloom: eggs, tomatoes, turkeys, even heirloom people. Authentic, genuine, honest, and down to earth, thats my definition of people who are heirloom. And it was heirloom tomato time! You have to be lucky to get good ones, and I was really lucky at Whole Foods. They were firm, thick, crispy, sweet, and juicy, perfect levels. Of course they are quite expensive but instead of buying expensive clothes or eating out at some upscale restaurant I choose top-quality ingredients because they are always worth it in terms of my happiness.

My dinner was heirloom tomatoes, peaches, cheese, and spicy sopressata with a sliced baguette. I recently discovered the best of the best, the baguette monge at the Maison Kayser near my house. Id never tasted such delicious baguette anywhere else, including Paris! Crunchy and chewy crust with a soft and spongy inside. Both ends of the bread come to a pointed tip, like old-style traditional Korean shoes called gomusin. My whole family knows the tips are mine. I drizzle some olive oil on top, lovely!

For cheese I got Herv Mons Camembert, Spring Koe Gouda (I love the beautiful orange color that reminds me of jade!), and some Saint Angel Triple Creme which is my favorite these days. I used to be addicted to Livarot from Normandy, the stinkiest cheese I could find, but these days I like smoother cheese with a milky flavor.

It was only a couple of years ago that I discovered sopressata. Im actually not a big sausage or cured-meat person, but once in a while some meaty pungentness in my life is nice. When I eat it with baguette and cheese, it enhances the taste. As I discovered, not all sopressata is delicious. The best I found is sold at Esposito Meats in Hells Kitchen. They get it from the Alps Provision in Astoria. I slice it thin like paper with my sharp knife. The taste is deep and rich and spicy, and reminds me of well-fermented kimchee.

I also served it with more Korean persimmons and some pesto that the producers from Vice gave me, made with ingredients grown on the rooftop of their offices. It was great!

Saturday, October 26Coffee and smoothie again.

When I bought that baguette yesterday from Maison Kaiser I also bought two financiers. There is so much butter inside its a guilty pleasure, but its delicious with my morning coffee as a weekend special, so I just had half of one, and it was enough. I like the plain flavor. With my coffee it turned from guilty pleasure to just pleasure.

My lunch was white fluffy rice cooked on the stovetop, with steamed eggplant and kimchee soup. Koreans make huge quantities of kimchee, which surprises some people. We make so much because when its well-fermented we make other dishes out of it like kimchee pancakes, kimchee stew, steamed kimchee, braised kimchee, kimchee dumplings, and yes, kimchee soup! I made kimchee soup with my well-fermented sour kimchee, just chopped it up and added chopped pork shoulder with some gochujang and water and boiled until the pork and kimchee turned soft and the broth was flavorful. Then I added tofu and cooked it another five to ten minutes. This is my familys favorite all wintertime, they love the combination and its always gone quickly.

Steamed eggplant, called gaji-namul in Korean, is one of my favorite side dishes. Korean eggplant is longer and thinner than Western eggplant, but I didnt have any Korean eggplant in the house so I used American eggplant. I sliced it into a half-inch-thick pieces lengthwise and steamed it for five minutes until well cooked but not mushy. Then I tore it up with my fingers and seasoned it with soy sauce, garlic, green onion, toasted sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds. It was soft, savory, and comforting, and went well with the kimchee soup.

I made multigrain rice with my electric pressure rice cooker. I have a Cuckoo brand from Korea, which makes great rice every time and is especially good for multigrain rice. I used white short grain rice, barley, brown rice, and black rice.

I also made beef radish soup (soegogi muguk) with brisket from Dicksons Meats in Chelsea Market. Its the best brisket in New York City that Ive found so far, and it reminds me of the brisket I used to buy from a butcher in my neighborhood in Korea. It tastes just like the Korean beef I used to taste, with just enough tasty fat to make the perfect beef radish soup. I salted the soup with my three-year-old homemade soy sauce! Yum!

These days, Korean radish is in peak season, and the past weekend I found some beautiful ones in Hanyang Mart in Flushing. Good radish is firm, crispy, sweet, and juicy. I cut it into matchsticks and made a very simple Korean radish salad called musaengchae. Its one of the most Korean common side dishes.

Also at Hanyang Mart I bought some mackerel. Holy mackerel! They were so large with wonderful blue backs, and their eyes were so clear. Its hard to get good mackerel in the summertime, but its in season, so I bought several and cleaned, butterflied, salted, and then wrapped them into individual pieces and put them in my freezer. Then for my dinner, I took one out and instead of pan-frying it as I usually do, I used my air fryer that my daughter bought me a while ago. It turned out great! Soft, flaky, salty flesh with crunchy skin, really delicious!

Sunday, October 27Had my coffee and smoothie and, later, a quick lunch before shooting my video. I reheated some of the leftover kimchee soup in the fridge and added a scoop of rice to it. Its a quick eating style that Koreans call gukbap, literally soup rice. I shoot my videos every 10 days or every 12 days. Its not like, Okay this is the date Im supposed to. That is too much obligation. I always want freedom.

It was a late dinner for me after filming. I ate the oxtail soup from the video shoot, served with well-fermented radish kimchee (kkakdugi) from my fridge. An oxtail soup recipe had been requested by my readers so many times, so I couldnt wait to post the video! Oxtail has a lot of meat, so you need to cook it until the meat is tender but not falling off the bone into the soup. That meat has a lot of collagen and protein, and when I ate the light milky broth, my lips stick to each other. Thats when Im satisfied with my oxtail soup.

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YouTube Star Maangchi Savors the Best Part of the Baguette - Grub Street

While the mega-popular, high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet has led many people to severely restrict the amount of carbohydrates they eat, other health aficionados are turning to an eating strategy that embraces them, called "carb cycling."

Carb cycling involves alternating between high-carb and low-carb days over the course of a week. Unlike other diets that cut out carbs entirely, carb cycling encourages you to ramp up or cut back on your carb intake in alignment with your activity level each day.

Endurance athletes and bodybuilders use this approach to boost performance or achieve a desired physique before a competition, Torey Armul, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics tells CNBC Make It. Fitness influencers also use this tactic to lose weight, and share photos of recipes and meal plans on Instagram and Pinterest. There are over 475,000 posts on Instagram with some version of a "#carbcycling" hashtag.

And carb cycling has been gaining traction among recreational athletes who want to reach their fitness goals, have more stamina or simply eat more carbs.

Why is this diet suddenly so popular? "Carb cycling offers the perception of a 'middle ground,' where people don't need to limit their carb intake all the time but still instate some guideposts on their carbohydrate consumption," Ali Webster, associate director of nutrition communications for the International Food Information Council Foundation tells CNBC Make It.

From a scientific standpoint, carb cycling makes a lot of sense, Armul tells CNBC Make It. "It's good practice for everyone, especially athletes, to change what you're eating based on what you're doing with workouts," she says.

And carbs are good for the body and mind. They're the body's preferred energy source, because they provide quick fuel that's easily digestible, Armul says. "They're the most obvious choice [of energy] for your body, your muscles and your brain."

The brain has a harder time utilizing other types of fuel, such as fat or protein, according to Harvard Health Publishing.

And studies have shown that depriving yourself of carbohydrates acutely impacts your thinking and cognition. In a 2008 study from Tufts University, women who ate a low-carb diet for three weeks scored worse on a memory test than those who ate a low-calorie, but balanced diet.

"The brain needs glucose for energy and diets low in carbohydrates can be detrimental to learning, memory and thinking," Holly A. Taylor, study author, said in a press release.

As for the body, when carbs aren't available it will burn fat for energy, Armul explains. And over time that could lead to weight loss (that's why people flock to the keto diet), which might be a desired effect for some. But from an energy standpoint, fat isn't as effective as carbs.

Think of it this way in terms of performance: Using carbs is like driving a sports car on a racetrack, whereas fat is like driving a tank down the highway, Armul says. Some amount of healthy fat is important in your diet, but fat isn't meant for high-speed races.

"Fat isn't as efficient as a fuel source, so it's not burned as quickly," Armul says. If performance is your goal, "ideally you're giving yourself ample glucose and carbohydrate supply for fuel."

The exact amount of carbohydrates that someone needs will vary from person to person, Webster says.

For a regular diet, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine advises that adults get 45% to 65% of their calories from carbohydrates. Someone eating a 2,000-calorie diet might eat between 225 and 325 grams of carbohydrates per day.

Carb cycling is an internet-popular diet, not necessarily one that's used in a clinical setting, so it's tough to say exactly how the plan would be structured. But according to the American Council on Exercise, a carb cycling diet might have someone eating 50 grams to 150 grams of carbs on a low-carb day (to put that in perspective, two slices of bread contains about 15 grams of carbohydrates), and up to 400 grams on a high-carb day. Broadly speaking, someone might plan very low-carb intake on days when they're not training, and then increase their intake on the most vigorous exercise day, Armul says.

It's also not clear how sustainable this diet would be for everyone, Webster says. Eating too few carbs could leave you feeling zapped, and the plan doesn't take into consideration other important nutrients, such as protein or fiber. "Its longevity may also depend on the schedule and extent of high- versus low-carb consumption," she adds.

If you find that you're losing weight when you don't want to be, or you have no energy, that could be a sign that you may be consuming too few carbs, or not eating them at the right time, Armul says. "Working with a dietitian or doctor can help you plan when and what to eat to maximize your performance," she adds.

Given how much tracking and restricting is required with carb cycling, it could be exhausting or frustrating for people, Armul adds. "It takes all the enjoyment of food out of it and makes it very mathematical," she says. "Some people thrive on that, but for most people it can be kind of taxing."

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'Carb cycling' lets you eat carbs and it could help boost performance - CNBC

The NHS explains: Eating an unhealthy diet high in fat will make your atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) worse and increase your risk of heart attack.

A healthy diet should consist of at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day, basing meals on higher fibre starchy foods like potatoes and rice, having some dairy or dairy alternatives, eating some protein such as beans, fish and meat, choosing unsaturated oils and spread and eating them in small amounts, and drinking plenty of fluids.

While these are more general rules to follow, a certain diet has been linked to lower risk of heart disease - a condition that can lead to heart attack.

A vegan diet, which has become increasingly popular over the last few years, has proven effective at preventing heart problems.

READ MORE:High blood pressure: Best cooking oil to use to lower your reading

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Heart attack: Best diet to lower risk of the life-threatening condition - foods to eat - Express