Category Archives: Diet And Food

The keto diet has built up a reputation for being able to help with losing weight and keeping it off. But it is also known for how much meat people eat to try to achieve their high-fat, low-carb goal. So is there a vegan keto diet that allows plant-based folks to also follow this way of eating? Surprisingly, yes.

Just as you can still go out to eat on keto by making a few tweaks, you can adapt the diet to fit whatever eating restrictions you haveyou just need to get creative about it. So, it is possible to be vegan and keto at the same time. But even dietitians acknowledge that it may not be the easiest to do.

Eating a vegan keto diet is difficult, since you're not eating any animal protein, says Vanessa Rissetto, MS, RD, a co-founder of Culina Health in New York City. Jessica Cording, a New York-based RD and the author of The Little Book of Game-Changers, agrees. Technically, this is possible, but it takes a lot more planning and careful consideration than if someone was incorporating animal proteins, Cording says.

Still, there are a lot of potential hurdles to overcome and it all revolves around how to find the right foods to eat. Rissetto points out that most foods that could help you stay vegan and go on keto would be overly processed, which would work against you if your goal is to be healthier as a whole.

So, what's the best way to go about the vegan keto diet and what kind of foods can (and cant) you eat on it? Heres a breakdown of everything you need to know, plus how to pull it off.

A big one is that you dont need to think about cholesterol as much as you would if you were on regular keto. One of the downsides of traditional keto is that if someone is eating too much red meat, it can reflect poorly in their cholesterol, Cording says. With a plant-based approach, there is less risk of that.

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Another benefit is weight loss. If you can follow a vegan keto diet appropriately, Cording says you should be able to lose weight.

A vegan diet focuses on plant-based foods. And, in order to hit ketosis, where your body starts to burn fat instead of carbs, you need to hit all the right macros: 60 to 70 percent of your calories from fats, 15 to 30 percent from protein, and five to 10 percent from carbs.

You need to have a good sense of what provides enough calories, fat, protein, and fiber without contributing more carbohydrates, Cording says. A lot of mainstays of plant-based proteins like beans are much trickier to incorporate if someone is doing a vegan keto diet because beans do have carbs, she explains.

It can be pretty easy to cover your bases with fat and still get adequate fiberprotein is the bigger struggle. Cording recommends leaning heavily into nuts and seeds, which are great sources of healthy fats and have some fiber and protein. You should also scale back a little on traditional vegan protein sources like tempeh, which is higher in carbs.

To do the vegan keto diet, Cording says youll want to go big on these foods:

You can have the following in moderation:

Youll also want to avoid these foods:

A lot depends on your personal preferences and tastes, but Cording suggests trying these meal plans out, complete with dishes and snacks.

Dietitians are hesitant to actually recommend this diet, given how restrictive it is. If you have a history of an eating disorder, Cording says its definitely best to take a pass.

But, if you feel confident in your ability to pull off the vegan keto diet and know you will be okay with the parameters, nutritionists still recommend bringing in a professional to help figure out how to make this work in the healthiest way possible. Definitely consult an RD, Rissetto says.

Just know this, per Cording: Youre probably going to need to add a supplement to the mix. Even when youre covering all your bases, you likely will need some kind of supplementation because this diet is so restrictive, she says.

The bottom line: You can go keto if you're vegan, but you should definitely work with a nutritionist to make sure you're doing it right and getting all your essential nutrients.

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Vegan Keto Diet - What It Is And How To Do It, From Dietitians - Women's Health

She said: At any age, maintaining a healthy weight is always important, however as people get older, it does get more difficult.

The fact that Princess Anne exemplifies good health shows that she must lead an active and healthy lifestyle.

While the usual weight loss rules would have applied, such as burning more calories than she consumed, eating lean meat, reducing sugary foods with little to no nutritional value and avoiding fad diets, there are additional things that I believe Princess Anne would have done.

As you become older, you lose muscular mass. Strength training can help to compensate for this.

Princess Anne is arguably one of the busiest royals and is known to lead a very active lifestyle with occasional horse riding.

READ MORE:The distinct difference between Princess Charlotte and her brothers

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Princess Anne diet: Royal is epitome of health at 71 as 'busiest royal' - stays 'active' - Daily Express

Mayor-elect Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, traded jelly doughnuts for kale smoothies when diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes five years ago. Since then, he reversed vision loss and nerve damage, shed 35 pounds and anointed himself a spokesperson for a plant-based lifestyle. As he prepares to take over City Hall, a job that comes with a national bully pulpit, he stands to turn his passion into policy.

We can save more lives with plant-based diet if people would only realize they are enslaved to fats, oil, sugar and things that are killing their body, Adams said in a short 2018 film produced by Forks Over Knives, a company that promotes a whole-foods diet.

Eric Adams speaks to reporters on July 12. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

In electing Adams a fit 61-year-old who once boasted, I dont have a six-pack, I have a case voters have chosen someone who used his public perch as Brooklyn borough president to proselytize a vegan diet. He showed off his intricate smoothie recipe and office-based stepper for TV cameras, spearheaded a plant-based diet program at a leading city hospital and authored Healthy At Last part memoir, part cookbook intended to overhaul the diets of its readers. (Even olive oil, dubbed liquid fat, didnt escape Adams scorn.)

Adams, a Democrat, brought his devotion to the mayoral campaign trail vowing to fund doulas for pregnant women because the first classroom is in a mothers womb, meditating on stage before televised debates and sharing his Election Night victory stage with a doctor who specializes in past life regression and reiki.

Much of the time the incoming mayor, who is Black, focuses on racial disparities in medicine. He likened soul food to slave food on a recent podcast and pledged to build clinics in low-income neighborhoods that lack access to top-tier hospitals. And, reasoning that poverty exacerbates health problems, he wants public hospitals to double as hubs for social services, according to campaign literature.

He also promised to clean up city-funded food: No more processed school lunches, sugary drinks for public hospital patients or junk food for detainees in city jails, he told POLITICO in an interview last year.

You should not be leaving jail unhealthy, he said. You should not be in a homeless shelter where I am feeding you on taxpayers dime and I am feeding you food like chicken nuggets.

Adams declined to be interviewed for this story. Asked for further details about his plans to overhaul taxpayer-funded meals, adviser Evan Thies replied: The mayor-elect will make it his mission to change the dietary paradigm in these facilities, introducing plant-based meals to improve health outcomes and ensure all agencies are aligned on the goal of creating a healthier, more prosperous city for all residents.

During a recent podcast focused on diet, the incoming mayor said he hopes to grow tomatoes year-round for public schools through vertical farming.

At times, Adams dedication morphs into fanaticism: He argued a healthy diet could prevent schizophrenia during a mayoral forum last year and has compared fried food to cocaine and heroin.

A City Council member who declined to be named attributed Adams beliefs to the fervor of a convert.

In his book, Adams points to research concluding meat, eggs and dairy food increase a childs risk of asthma, while antioxidants in fruits and vegetables limit that danger.

This is quite misleading. None of these foods are proven to cause asthma, said Anna Nowak-Wgrzyn, director of the Pediatric Allergy Program at Hassenfeld Childrens Hospital at NYU Langone. Its oversimplifying a complex matter. Its important for kids, especially from underprivileged populations, to get a healthy diet, but in terms of asthma we cant say it can prevent or improve asthma.

Two former officials in Mayor Bill de Blasios health department both of whom asked for anonymity to speak freely about the incoming mayor raised concerns that he does not always back up his claims with scientific research, even as they generally agree with his views on nutrition.

Given the current climate all the mistrust that has existed and reinforced under the Trump administration its more important to provide more information thats sound and accurate, one of the people said. Obviously he cant be there speaking off the top of his head.

During a candidate forum focused on mental health last year, he said scientific research demonstrates that consuming healthy food can really prevent and treat many of the issues were dealing with, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety.

This Sept. 7, 2019 photo shows items in a vending machine in New York. | Patrick Sison/AP Photo

Shebani Sethi Dalai, founding director of Metabolic Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, said even politicians with good intentions should be conscious about spreading misinformation.

I wouldnt say these diets could treat bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. There isnt data to support that, she said. I dont know if its responsible to recommend solely dietary things unless its monitored and seeing if its working for the individual.

She also cautioned a vegan diet could result in certain vitamin deficiencies.

In response, Thies pointed to a Harvard Review of Psychiatry study that found a growing body of literature shows the gut microbiome plays a shaping role in a variety of psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder.

In his book, Adams also weighed in on an open question about the role of soy a popular meat alternative in breast cancer risk, declaring it unequivocally does not contribute to the common disease.

Theres a myth out there that soy a common staple of a plant-based diet can increase breast cancer risk. In fact, the opposite is true, he wrote, citing the Mayo Clinic. Even women who have breast cancer can benefit from eating more soy.

As borough president he championed meatless Mondays and pushed to eliminate all processed meat in public schools. He also opened a lactation room in Brooklyn Borough Hall and once proclaimed, breastfeeding is the best feeding for our youngest Brooklynites.

Health experts believe Adams allegiance to an issue they hold dear particularly after two terms of a mayor who was at war with his public health agency will serve the city well.

Hes got a compelling personal health story, and has highlighted some important means of moving [forward] with plans understanding that social issues are part of health care, bringing more resources into under-resourced neighborhoods, focusing on prevention. These are really important issues, said Tom Frieden, former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Bloombergs health commissioner.

Yet Adams public health plans remain vague.

His campaign book mentions improving access to medical care and enrolling more people in health insurance through outreach programs a tough proposition considering the lack of financial penalty for the uninsured and a dearth of options for undocumented immigrants. To that end, Adams has said he would increase funding for a city program that connects residents to primary care.

Eric Adams speaks at a celebration party at Zero Bond on Nov. 2 in New York City. | Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Haute Living

Thies also said Adams would look to create a more seamless partnership between public and private hospitals to ease the sharing of data, but did not provide further details on that, or the clinics planned for low-income neighborhoods.

A review of his campaign literature, records as borough president and remarks on the trail hint at Adams approach to public health.

For starters, he has asked Mitchell Katz to remain as president and CEO of the public hospital system, three people familiar with the situation told POLITICO. They spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal the internal maneuvering. Katz who assumed the role in 2018 and has been credited with turning around the beleaguered hospital system's finances became one of de Blasio's most trusted aides during the pandemic, as the mayor sparred with his health commissioner.

A year before launching his mayoral bid, Adams declared he wants every city hospital to open a lifestyle medicine clinic to encourage plant-based diets, particularly for patients with diabetes. As borough president in 2018, he spearheaded a similar program within the city-run Bellevue Hospital. Some 300 patients have enrolled so far, with another 850 on a waiting list. The hospital reported participants have experienced weight loss and lowered blood sugar and blood pressure, according to a hospital spokesperson.

He also wants to begin a doula initiative aimed, in part, at advising expectant mothers on nutrition.

If you do not ensure that that mother has the right nutrition while she is carrying that baby, you can turn on genetic markers that will impact the quality of that childs life throughout the entire lifespan, Adams said at a January mayoral primary forum.

He has also expressed interest in revisiting a proposed soda tax, which would require cooperation from state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul. In his last year in office, Bloomberg pressed for a ban on the sale of sugary drinks that exceeded 16 ounces. The beverage industry immediately sued, and a judge ruled such an edict could only be enacted legislatively. A subsequent soda tax bill is stuck in committee in the state Legislature.

When he assumes office Jan. 1, Adams will face a city struggling with its worst mass-casualty event since the AIDS epidemic. He has hesitated to say much about his plans around Covid-19, but his convictions about diet and exercise are not matched when it comes to the controversial matter of vaccine mandates.

He has repeatedly said he supports the requirements de Blasio recently instituted, while dodging questions on enforcement.

During the final days of the election, he offered oblique solutions, like extended talks with union leaders. Thies said Adams would enact and enforce mandates according to science, efficacy and the advice of public health professionals but declined to elaborate. Those professionals urged City Hall to enact a vaccine mandate for municipal workers, and early evidence shows its working.

In recent weeks with more municipal employees getting vaccinated as de Blasios threat of lost pay looms as a penalty for those who defy his mandate Adams and his closest advisers have expressed some concern about the regulation, according to two people who have spoken with them privately.

My sense is he will have a different approach as de Blasio had, Henry Garrido executive director of the citys largest municipal union, DC37 said after a recent talk with Adams on the citys vaccine mandate. Garrido was one of Adams earlier endorsers.

Those who have legitimate reasons for not taking the vaccine, we understand that, Adams said on MSNBC last month. This is a city and a country where religion is important. But everyone else that is required to take the vaccine, were going to be clear and give a great deal of clarity that this is whats expected of you.

Policy issues aside, the new mayor has enthused vegans and fitness aficionados alike.

A meatless bodega sandwich has been crafted in his honor. Outgoing Staten Island Borough President Jimmy Oddo a Republican in line for a potential Adams administration appointment said Adams inspired him to keep chasing a desired physique. I texted Eric a few years ago that I can run through a brick wall after listening to you talk about health and wellness, Oddo said in an interview.

Mayor Adams can be a genuine change agent and can be, in my opinion, a national catalyst for change, Oddo said.

Garrido recalled Adams sending him a copy of Healthy at Last after the union leader lamented his own diet. He said he was touched by the gesture and gave meatless Monday a try, though some of the suggested recipes seemed daunting.

They require a lot of time and access to a lot of ingredients that arent always accessible, Garrido said. For somebody with a very hectic schedule, preparing couscous salads [that are] going to take me 50 minutes when Im traveling is difficult.

But I still think hes onto something, he added.

With all eyes on Adams as he assumes the vast responsibility of overseeing the nations largest city, one thing is certain: Public health is likely to be at the forefront of his agenda.

If Black lives really matter, its more than just George Floyd being murdered, he said on a podcast this year. Its the murder thats taking place every day in our cities that we feed people bad food.

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Meatless Mondays and the evils of olive oil: Eric Adams wants to put New York on a diet - POLITICO

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Im so glad that we did not need to put Angela Lansbury into the bin of bad celebrities offering terrible diet and exercise advice. Sure, her Positive Moves was far from perfect, but she wasnt shilling dangerous advice a la so many other celebrities and influencers. Ill admit it wasnt until Maintenance Phase told me Lansbury had a diet book that I even knew one existed, but the same could be said about any number of celebrity/influencer diet books mentioned on the outstanding podcast. As it turns out, there will never be too many such books for fans of Maintenance Phase.

Hosted by Michael Hobbes and Aubrey Gordon, author of the bookWhat We Dont Talk About When We Talk About Fat, Maintenance Phase is biweekly podcast tackles topics on health and wellness. This is a fat positive show, and it seeks to shed light on things that are or once were trendy in weight loss, health, and diet culture. Hobbes and Gordon have incredible chemistry and manage to talk through big, heavy topics without interrupting or undermining each other. In addition to the big topics they delve into things such as the Presidential Fitness Test, protein as a cure-all, the BMI one of the recurring features on the show is a deep dive into a celebrity wellness book. Of course, Goop has made an appearance, as has the above-mentioned Lansbury, but so has Ed McMahon and the deep dive into Marianne Williamson is a must-listen for anyone who found themself unable to stop watching the LuLaRich docuseries. Im not usually one who loves book clublike episodes of podcasts, but it absolutely works for Maintenance Phase, as Hobbes and Gordon do such a fantastic job of going in with an eye toward quackery, toward debunked myths of health and wellness, and, maybe as importantly, with the desire to ridicule diet culture while also offering space for levity among the absurdity.

Itd be easy to pull together a roundup of books like Maintenance Phase. Were finally in an era of fat positive and body positive books, including one by Gordon. But whats more in the spirit of the podcast than instead a roundup of some of the ridiculous, out of touch, and weird celebrity diet books that exist? Some of these would make for outstanding show fodder, and they make for a great reminder to readers more broadly that just because someone has a platform or is a celebrity, that doesnt make them knowledgable in any way, shape, or form about health, wellness, diet, or exercise. They are instead a reminder of how pervasive and destructive diet culture is, as well as the trends which inspired generations of poor advice (think: the ways fake sugar were held up as superior to real sugar, for example, or the ways that grapefruit or extremely limited caloric intake were heralded as the solution to weight loss).

Dieting and health are as individual as we all are, and no matter what advice is given, its never one-size-fits-all, nor should it be. Our bodies are our own, and we can choose to live in our bodies in whatever way we wish. Diet culture and exercise culture can be toxic, and theyre both deeply representative of the culture and milieu from which theyre developed. This will become apparent quickly with the below titles, but its worth emphasizing that if celebrities can make up anything they want related to health or wellness, so can anyone else, with or without any actual credentials to do so. Remember that even celebrities known for their athleticism or fitness dont tell the whole truth you may, as the saying goes, have the same number of hours in a day as Beyonc, but you likely dont have access to the same resources, money, and hired help she does.

Itll come as little surprise that these books are primarily by white authors for all of the reasons youd expect. But perhaps, in this particular case, thats a sigh of relief.

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Im having such a hard time grappling with the fact that in the 80s, it was well-publicized how fat Elizabeth Taylor got during her marriage to John Warner in the 70s. And indeed, fat Elizabeth Taylor was 180 pounds and ridiculed widely in the media so in her 40s, she decided it was time to stop comfort eating (and drinking) and dropped down to, as she claims, 122 pounds.

This book is about how she did it, including diet plans that include how to prepare ones breakfast coffee, and indeed, it leaves plenty of room for the opportunity to pig out as necessary. As Maya Sinha describes in a humorous 2020 Saturday Evening Post article, much of the diet advice is a relic of 80s food culture, and it sounds to me exactly like the kind of book that helped generations of people fall into destructive eating habits (not to mention, 180 pounds is only 10 pounds heavier than what the CDC notes as the average weight for American women).

Whom among us hasnt woken up one morning and decided that we needed to wear designer clothing and in order to do so, we needed to drop 80 pounds? It should come as no surprise, then, after the acclaimed designer dropped those 80 pounds, hed share his secrets in a book. This book came with a pull out poster that offered foods that were recommended, those which were off limits, which were to be approached with caution, with a bonus opportunity to indulge in some red wine (its fashion, baby).

Among the foods to be avoided? Cherries. Prunes. Lentils. Lagerfeld, who lost 90-some pounds in 13 months, was grateful certain soda companies produced diet products since those were a chance for him to indulge after giving up his beloved chocolate ice cream.

It likely comes as little surprise that Lagerfeld was a white supremacist who demeaned models and other industry folks for being too fat during his career. He hated women and immigrants, and its not really shocking to see the line between toxicity in diet culture and toxicity in thought more broadly.

If the authors name doesnt ring a bell, know she was a tremendous influencer on culture for decades as the Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan from 1965 until 1997. Her book was a tremendous bestseller and offered advice to young women that was simultaneously feminist and about as far away from feminist as possible, and it was this tension that made it the kind of book so many picked up and talked about in the 60s.

One chapter in the book details the ways a woman should maintain her physique. Advice included sexercise, but more controversially, the eggs and wine crash diet. Women were advised to try this for two days and see a quick weight loss: eat 1 egg in any style for breakfast without butter, alongside a glass of white wine; for lunch, two eggs of any style, with two glasses of white wine; and finally, for dinner, 1 steak and the rest of the bottle of white wine. Brown later expanded the diet to incorporate a glass of orange juice.

The book notes that theres not an excuse for being fat and that not only is claiming glandular disorders a cop-out (Doctors find that behind nearly every fat person lies a history of compulsive, secretive eating) and that women fresh from childbirth have proved they can be slim again quick.

Look: I love Cher, and I think her video for If I Could Turn Back Time is nothing less than iconic who else could pull off what is essentially black electric tape to keep from indecent exposure?

But alas, this book offers both diet and exercise advice that isnt entirely transparent or informed about Good and Bad food. It was 1991 and the world was afraid of fats, so this particular diet eschewed fat in favor of complex carbs.

Dairy products are not good for us. I weaned myself from whole milk to nonfat milk if Im having milk at all. I think cheese is one of the worst things for the body. It doesnt digest well, and most cheeses are too high in fat and cholesterol, she writes in the book, also noting that while filming Witches of Eastwick, she participated in binge eating, which she resolved by sustaining herself on microwaved sweet potatoes, baked potatoes, and Caesar saladswhich is also not great?

Also worth noting here that the cowriter, who is a nutritionist, is a sports nutritionist whose work specializes in high-performing, professional athletes. The advice here isnt even MEANT for the average person, despite being sold to them.

Carbs were the enemy when this book published in the mid-1960s, and the provocative title really isnt as out there as it sounds when you realize the diet is about eating higher-fat and richer foods that dont have a lot of carbs. So indeed, one of the sample lunches included had a martini as a drink option, alongside a cream of mushroom soup, chicken salad, mayonnaise, melon, and coffee with creamer (as opposed to a Coke, club sandwich, and apple pie).

But more than the push for swapping all carbs for as few carbs as possible and what makes this book noteworthy, even if the author may not be memorable is this is where the familiar conversions of food to exercise came from. Want to know how many calories it takes to digest certain foods? Indeed, you can find it here.

There is a lot of drinking in this book, which is, I guess, great if you like martinis as part of your diet all the time. You can cover the smell of the liquor with your allotted peppermints and chewing gum, though.

DJ Tanner doesnt eat a solid diet, encourages a breastfeeding woman to ditch cheese because surely she could stand to shed a few pounds, and believes that if you just pray, your weight problems might be resolved. Really. Jesus might solve your eating disorder and thats not to say faith cant help you, but real psychological disorders, including eating disorders, also require professional help.

Bures general philosophies are questionable at best (shes anti-vaccine) and pair that with showing how she herself eats what is a restrictive diet, the rhetoric that most people need to just try a little harder, and how she talks about how others should eat puts this squarely in the nah box.

Shes not a dietician, a doctor, or anywhere in the health world.

A lot of reviews talk about the timeless tips in this one, and most of whats cited is pretty harmless, including using olive oil to remove makeup.

But one of the quotable lines in this particular title is everything you see, I owe to spaghetti. Yes, indeed, this beautiful woman enjoys spaghetti. Whats not mentioned is that comes into play in her monthly 3-day crash diet of 1000 calories. The three days have different meals, but they boil down to very little food in order to achieve that spaghetti excitement. And if youre hungry, youre permitted to enjoy snacks of peppers or tomatoes with garlic salt.

If youre now unable to stop thinking about diet and wellness books packed with terrible advice, youll want to pop on over to a piece by Aubrey Gordon in Self about her own obsession with these books and what theyve taught her about the culture surrounding diet and wellness.

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Bananas Celebrity Diet and Wellness Books for Fans of Maintenance Phase - Book Riot

Eating gluten-free foods as a healthy diet has yet to catch on in Japan to the degree it has in the United States and Europe. Improved food labeling in the last several years has increased recognition of allergies. However, living or traveling gluten-free in Japan is still comparatively difficult due to the pervasiveness of wheat in foods. A long-term resident who has lived without wheat products for nearly two decades offers advice on eating gluten-free while in Japan.

Moving to Japan in 2001 had unimagined consequences for my health. I had become severely lactose intolerant while attending grad school in the United States in the late 1990s, and my digestion only worsened after coming to Japan. No amount of careful dieting helped, nor did getting tested for allergies offer any clues for my condition.

I had become afraid to eat anything at all, since everything I ingested made me sick (I thought, like the sister in Laura Esquivels iconic novel Like Water for Chocolate, that I might actually die from gas). On top of all of the food problems, I suffered several miscarriages, which I later discovered can be caused by malnutrition stemming from gluten intolerance. Thanks to the newly blooming internet I also learned about elimination dieting, in which you cut out one possible allergen from your diet at a time over a period of months, and gave it a try.

The second thing I tried eliminating was wheat, and no further testing was necessary. My digestive woes disappeared, but most surprisingly the pain of my menstrual cycle, which previously left me in a fetal position for half a day every month, mellowed to a mild backache.

Unfortunately, at that time conditions like gluten intolerance and celiac disease were not widely recognized. My allergist referred me to a specialist who told me that there was no way I had a wheat allergy, as that was something only small children have, and they grow out of it. Even without a diagnosis, it was clear to me that I did not have a problem as long as I shunned wheat, so I trusted my gut. Subsequently, my skin rashes cleared up, my fingernails got thicker and stronger, my hair filled out, and I now have a healthy 16-year-old daughter.

Living wheat-free was much easier said than done, though, as food labeling in Japan was still relatively hit-and-miss. Thankfully, although gluten-free food has yet to really take off in Japan, identifying safe products is a lot easier now, in large part because of Japanese food labeling laws that have taken effect since 2015. Recognition of food allergies has also rapidly increased in recent years, and agricultural programs designed to promote rice consumption have increased the number and variety of products made with rice flour instead of wheat flour. Still, adhering to a medically necessary gluten-free diet in Japan is comparatively challenging, particularly if you are not fluent in both reading and speaking Japanese.

Water binding with the gliadin and glutenin proteins in wheat flour forms the large protein complex called gluten, found in wheat, barley, rye, and sometimes in oats. This complex protein binds to itself and forms a regular and continuous network of fine strands, allowing wheat flour to stick together to capture the air bubbles that create the foamy texture of bread. But thats not all; gluten is extremely elastic and can absorb about twice its own weight in water. These propertieswater absorption, stickiness, and plasticitymake it fantastically valuable in the food industry. In products like butter and ice cream it can be used to extend bulk and create a smooth texture. Wheat flour is commonly used in the freezing process of prepared foods containing rice to keep the grains from clumping up, as a binder and extender in processed meat products, and as a thickener or coloring agent in sauces. Gluten is even in some makeup and skin care products. Syrup sweeteners made from barley are a completely unlabeled way to encounter gluten in Japan.

Gluten intolerance, celiac disease, and wheat allergy are not the same thing, but the primary way to mitigate any of them is to completely eliminate wheat products from the diet.

A wheat allergy is a reaction to any of the four wheat proteins: albumin, globulin, gliadin, or glutenin. This is much easier to detect and diagnose than celiac or gluten intolerance, because the effects are almost always immediate: swelling or itchiness in the mouth and throat, nausea, vomiting, or even anaphylaxis, which can be fatal.

Celiac disease and gluten intolerance, meanwhile, are autoimmune disorders: a persons body has an adverse reaction to the large gluten protein complex. The reaction occurs mostly in the small intestine, and it can take a long time to damage the organ to the point where serious effects are felt immediately after ingesting gluten. For most sufferers, even the smallest bit of gluten will cause a reaction, but the outward manifestation can be delayed, sometimes by many hours, and the severity of the perceived problem may vary. Symptoms can range from bloating or gas to diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, headaches, skin rashes, and even hair loss or miscarriage. Many of the symptoms result from malnutrition caused by the damage to the intestine rather than from the immediate reaction to gluten in the gut, and people who have celiac disease or gluten intolerance may not even know they have it, but have general ailments and are unable to pinpoint the cause.

Lots of people may benefit from a gluten-free diet because they are actually mildly gluten intolerant and do not know it, or because a diet of this kind forces them to carefully monitor what they ingest. However, such a diet can be both much more expensive and less healthy than a regular diet if not properly understood. This is because many gluten-free products intended to mimic and replace traditional wheat products are primarily made of starchy ingredients like rice flour, tapioca starch, corn starch, and potato starch. The products may not be inherently unhealthy, but may have lower overall nutritional value and higher sugar levels than the wheat products they are intended to replace.

With a basic understanding of nutrition and food science, almost any traditional wheat-based dish can be made gluten free.

Perhaps counterintuitively, convenience stores are among the best places to get something safe to eat, as products are consistently and strictly labeled. However, you cannot rely on the allergen labeling because that information is only targeted at wheat allergy. It is best to learn enough Japanese to read the ingredient label itself, and beware of things like modified food starch (; kak denpun) and maltose (; bakugat). Other important words to look out for are cake flour (; hakurikiko) and even soy sauce ( or ; shyu)which, although made from soybeans, usually includes wheat in the production process. Even with standardized labeling rules, small food manufacturers are not always consistent with names of ingredients or with the allergy labels, so if you are not sure, do not eat it.

Large chain restaurants, known as famiresu (family restaurants) in Japan, now almost universally provide nutrition and allergy information online or even in the shop, making it relatively easy in larger towns and cities to find something to eat. Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka in particular have a handful of restaurants that either have completely gluten-free menus or serve gluten-free options, and these are pretty easy to find online. However, once you get away from population centers, finding a restaurant that will serve a gluten-free meal can be daunting. By far the safest bet is to find an authentic Indian restaurant. Real Indian curry is almost always gluten free, and typically comes with rice. Yakiniku (Korean barbecue) is pretty safe, but you have to be careful to specify that the meat you get is not marinated in anything, and watch out for the salad dressing. (In general plain salt and pepper is your safest bet.) If you bring your own gluten-free soy sauce and read the allergy listings carefully, you can usually eat some sushi, but beware that shops boasting lower prices sometimes use wheat vinegar instead of traditional rice vinegar.

One way you can really tell the quality of a restaurant or eating establishment is by the way they treat their food-challenged guests. A lot of places will give you a blank stare if you ask about gluten-free food, vegetarian options (vegans in Japan have a terrible time), or other allergy information. However, sometimes you will come across a real gem. Even if a local cafe just fixes you a bowl of rice and a simple egg omelet, it is great to be able to have a place to eat out with friends.

Home-made gluten-free pies.

Tragically, eating informally prepared food of any kind can lead to serious consequences. Many people still do not understand that soy sauce normally has wheat in it, or that rice balls prepared on the same cutting board where bread or tempura just rested could be contaminated. Even dashi broth made with consomm powder can have wheat in it, as can candy made from the traditional sweetener mizuame ( or). A person who has serious intolerance, allergy, or celiac should never accept home-prepared food in Japan unless the cook well understands the issues involved.

Unfortunately, medical resources like antibody testing and diet advice for gluten intolerance are still relatively hard to come by outside of Tokyo. However, online shopping has changed the game in the past 20 years. These days, ordering xanthan gum or even pure soba flour is simple and quick. Various online retailers offer all kinds of gluten-free noodles, breads, cakes, pies, and snacks, much of it delivered frozen and in small packages. Additionally, groups on social networking sites are extremely valuable for asking questions and finding products.

Larger supermarkets usually have a section with allergy-appropriate products, including things like gluten-free soy sauce and noodles. These tend to be fairly expensive, but helpful in a pinch. Few products in Japan, however, are marked gluten free unless they are specifically manufactured as such. In many cases you have to trust to sanitation laws and the careful packaging Japan is famous for. Cross contamination is not unheard of, but in general food processing standards in Japan are extremely high, so things like chocolate bars, mochi rice, and soba noodles made with jwari () 100% buckwheat flour can be trusted to be nothing more than what they say they are.

Living with celiac, gluten intolerance, or a wheat allergy in Japan can still be extremely disappointing, because you are never going to be able to eat tempura, ramen, gyza, takoyaki, or any of the thousand mouthwatering options available at local festivals and in izakaya However, with a bit of planning and a reasonable command of the Japanese language, you can eat well and even experience local cuisine to a certain extent. Nicer hotels will often bend over backward to provide a delicious and beautiful gluten-free meal, as will the more expensive restaurants and bars. If you do not speak any Japanese at all, print out and laminate one of the translated explanations you can find online, and just ask your host to read it. Use your cellphone to translate the labels of food products, and if all else fails get a simple salmon onigiri or a Soy Joy bar from the nearest convenience store.

Happy eating!

(Originally published in English. Banner photo: A selection of gluten-free ingredients. All photos Anne Kohtz.)

View original post here:
Happy Eating: The Ups and Downs of a Gluten-Free Diet in Japan - Nippon.com

As you make your way through the soda aisle, you may notice a lot less of the word "diet" than you used to.That's because some diet sodas are disappearing or at least, that packaging is gone. Instead, you'll find those beverages under their new branding: Zero sugar."Zero sugar" has replaced "diet" for many no-calorie soft drinks. Canada Dry and Schweppes ginger ales, 7Up, A&W and Sunkist, made by Keurig Dr Pepper, now label their diet drinks "zero sugar." (One exception is the namesake Dr Pepper brand, which will still come in "diet" packaging in addition to a different zero sugar version.)The reason for the overhaul: The word "diet" has fallen out of fashion especially for Millennials and Gen Z-ers."Younger people just don't like the word 'diet," said Greg Lyons, chief marketing officer at PepsiCo Beverages North America, during the Beverage Digest Future Smarts conference in December. Pepsi rebranded "Pepsi Max" as "Pepsi Zero Sugar" in 2016 and has been investing in its zero-sugar offerings over the past few years."No Gen Z wants to be on a diet these days," he said, adding that the company is "going to continue to innovate and support that business."But distaste for the word diet doesn't signal an aversion to no-calorie beverages. The diet soda segment, which includes diet and zero-calorie branded drinks, has ballooned since it first hit the mainstream in the 1960s. In 2020, the U.S. retail diet carbonated soft drink market hit $11.2 billion, according to Mintel, a market research company.The segment is still far smaller than the market for regular carbonated soft drinks, which was $28.2 billion in 2020, but it's growing much more quickly. Diet soda sales are up about 19.5% from 2018, compared to just 8.4% for regular soda in the same period, making it an attractive segment for soda makers seeking growth.Evolving attitudes toward dieting as a concept mean soda makers have to de-emphasize diet branding as they steam ahead with zero-sugar offerings even when, as in the case of those brands owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, they're selling the same exact drink.The tactic could help soda makers bring more consumers, especially younger ones, into the fold. The industry needs those customers if it wants to grow the soda market.The birth of diet colasDiet drinks first became popular in the 1960s.Diet Rite, a no-calorie drink from the soda maker Royal Crown Cola, was launched in 1958 "as an option for diabetics and other consumers who needed to limit their sugar intake," wrote Emily Contois, author of "Diners, Dudes, and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide in Food Media and Culture," in a 2020 piece for Jezebel."It was first stocked among medicines rather than soft drinks, but focus soon shifted to the growing number of weight loss dieters nationwide," she wrote. Diet Rite was a hit, prompting Coca-Cola to introduce Tab in 1963, and Pepsi to start selling Diet Pepsi a year later.The segment gained steam in the following years. Looking to expand beyond Tab, Coca-Cola launched Diet Coke in 1982.At the time, Coca-Cola was facing many of the same challenges it is fighting today: It needed to reinvigorate the Coca-Cola brand, and thought adding a Coke-branded diet option could help. A company blog post detailing the launch of Diet Coke noted that "colas accounted for 60% of all soft drink sales in the U.S. back then, but diets were growing three times faster than the rest of the category. Diet Coke was seen as the right product for the right time."The company grappled with what to name the product. It considered using the moniker "sugar free" instead of diet, but "many saw it as a slur on Coca-Cola's main ingredient," according to the post. Ultimately, the company went with "diet" because it "was the most straightforward articulation of the promise of the brand."But a few decades later, Coca-Cola returned to the idea of a sugar-free-branded product. This time, it wanted to attract the demographics that seemed to be avoiding the company's diet beverages: younger consumers and men.Zero hits the sceneIn 2005, Coca-Cola introduced Coke Zero in the United States.Other companies also wanted a more neutral way to advertise no-sugar products.Eliminating the word "diet" creates a "gender-free way to talk about the same topic," said Jim Watson, senior beverage analyst at Rabobank, who told CNN Business that "diet definitely got taken over as something for women."But the arrival of zero-sugar drinks wasn't just about gender: It marked a turning point for the overall popularity of diet drinks. Alex Beckett, global food and drink analyst at Mintel, said the word diet "started falling out of fashion ... with the rise of zero."Billing a drink as free of calories and sugar is also about addressing changing ideas about health, and highlighting the absence of sugar from the drink as a positive attribute in itself."While the diet designation may be associated with strict regimes or deprivation, the 'zero' designation has fewer negative connotations, corresponding with simply a cleaner profile," according to a Mintel report from April.For Keurig, the shift seems to be working. Recent zero sugar launches alone were responsible for one percentage point of market-share gains for the company, according to Herbert Hopkins, president of cold beverages at Keurig Dr Pepper, who detailed the company's finances during the company's investor day in October.Coca-Cola has also seen success with its Zero offering, which was rebranded to Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in 2017 and got another update this year. "Coca-Cola Zero Sugar's new recipe has rolled out in more than 50 countries and has had accelerated growth in the last three months," said Coke CEO James Quincey during an analyst call in October.The new recipe arrived on shelves in the U.S. this summer, and since then "we have seen that 23% of current Coke Zero Sugar consumers are new," said Alex Ebanks, a spokesperson for the company, adding that Coca-Cola will continue to invest in the product next year and beyond.Competition heats up While big brands sharpen their focus on their zero-sugar offerings, they face competition from other categories and upstarts with novel ideas.One major competitor, according to Mintel's Beckett, is sparkling water."Many people are shifting over ... from carbonated soft drinks to sparkling waters," he said, because those drinks often have no sweeteners, no calories, and "have a more of a health healthy image."PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have offered their own sparkling waters to get in on the trend. Coca-Cola owns Topo Chico and has a line of caffeinated sparkling water called Aha, while PepsiCo sells Bubly.Beyond sparkling waters, competitors are entering the space with fresh spins on sodas. For example: Sodas that promote gut health.Olipop, a startup that says it makes "a new kind of soda," sells throwback flavors like classic root beer, vintage cola and others. The sodas, which range from about 35-50 calories each, are made with a mix of ingredients like Jerusalem artichoke and Cassava root that the company says support digestive health. Poppi, which also sells traditional soda flavors in addition to fruit flavors, makes a similar claim, emblazoning a "for a healthy gut" label on the front of its brightly colored cans."Consumers are voting with our wallets, and sugar is something that people definitely want less of in our lives," said Danny Stepper, CEO of LA Libations, a beverage company incubator. "That opens the door for a lot of opportunities and categories," he said. "Consumers want new things, so that's opening the door to new ideas."

As you make your way through the soda aisle, you may notice a lot less of the word "diet" than you used to.

That's because some diet sodas are disappearing or at least, that packaging is gone. Instead, you'll find those beverages under their new branding: Zero sugar.

"Zero sugar" has replaced "diet" for many no-calorie soft drinks. Canada Dry and Schweppes ginger ales, 7Up, A&W and Sunkist, made by Keurig Dr Pepper, now label their diet drinks "zero sugar." (One exception is the namesake Dr Pepper brand, which will still come in "diet" packaging in addition to a different zero sugar version.)

The reason for the overhaul: The word "diet" has fallen out of fashion especially for Millennials and Gen Z-ers.

"Younger people just don't like the word 'diet," said Greg Lyons, chief marketing officer at PepsiCo Beverages North America, during the Beverage Digest Future Smarts conference in December. Pepsi rebranded "Pepsi Max" as "Pepsi Zero Sugar" in 2016 and has been investing in its zero-sugar offerings over the past few years.

"No Gen Z wants to be on a diet these days," he said, adding that the company is "going to continue to innovate and support that business."

But distaste for the word diet doesn't signal an aversion to no-calorie beverages. The diet soda segment, which includes diet and zero-calorie branded drinks, has ballooned since it first hit the mainstream in the 1960s. In 2020, the U.S. retail diet carbonated soft drink market hit $11.2 billion, according to Mintel, a market research company.

The segment is still far smaller than the market for regular carbonated soft drinks, which was $28.2 billion in 2020, but it's growing much more quickly. Diet soda sales are up about 19.5% from 2018, compared to just 8.4% for regular soda in the same period, making it an attractive segment for soda makers seeking growth.

Evolving attitudes toward dieting as a concept mean soda makers have to de-emphasize diet branding as they steam ahead with zero-sugar offerings even when, as in the case of those brands owned by Keurig Dr Pepper, they're selling the same exact drink.

The tactic could help soda makers bring more consumers, especially younger ones, into the fold. The industry needs those customers if it wants to grow the soda market.

Diet drinks first became popular in the 1960s.

Diet Rite, a no-calorie drink from the soda maker Royal Crown Cola, was launched in 1958 "as an option for diabetics and other consumers who needed to limit their sugar intake," wrote Emily Contois, author of "Diners, Dudes, and Diets: How Gender and Power Collide in Food Media and Culture," in a 2020 piece for Jezebel.

"It was first stocked among medicines rather than soft drinks, but focus soon shifted to the growing number of weight loss dieters nationwide," she wrote. Diet Rite was a hit, prompting Coca-Cola to introduce Tab in 1963, and Pepsi to start selling Diet Pepsi a year later.

The segment gained steam in the following years. Looking to expand beyond Tab, Coca-Cola launched Diet Coke in 1982.

At the time, Coca-Cola was facing many of the same challenges it is fighting today: It needed to reinvigorate the Coca-Cola brand, and thought adding a Coke-branded diet option could help.

A company blog post detailing the launch of Diet Coke noted that "colas accounted for 60% of all soft drink sales in the U.S. back then, but diets were growing three times faster than the rest of the category. Diet Coke was seen as the right product for the right time."

The company grappled with what to name the product. It considered using the moniker "sugar free" instead of diet, but "many saw it as a slur on Coca-Cola's main ingredient," according to the post. Ultimately, the company went with "diet" because it "was the most straightforward articulation of the promise of the brand."

But a few decades later, Coca-Cola returned to the idea of a sugar-free-branded product. This time, it wanted to attract the demographics that seemed to be avoiding the company's diet beverages: younger consumers and men.

In 2005, Coca-Cola introduced Coke Zero in the United States.

Other companies also wanted a more neutral way to advertise no-sugar products.

Eliminating the word "diet" creates a "gender-free way to talk about the same topic," said Jim Watson, senior beverage analyst at Rabobank, who told CNN Business that "diet definitely got taken over as something for women."

But the arrival of zero-sugar drinks wasn't just about gender: It marked a turning point for the overall popularity of diet drinks. Alex Beckett, global food and drink analyst at Mintel, said the word diet "started falling out of fashion ... with the rise of zero."

Billing a drink as free of calories and sugar is also about addressing changing ideas about health, and highlighting the absence of sugar from the drink as a positive attribute in itself.

"While the diet designation may be associated with strict regimes or deprivation, the 'zero' designation has fewer negative connotations, corresponding with simply a cleaner profile," according to a Mintel report from April.

For Keurig, the shift seems to be working. Recent zero sugar launches alone were responsible for one percentage point of market-share gains for the company, according to Herbert Hopkins, president of cold beverages at Keurig Dr Pepper, who detailed the company's finances during the company's investor day in October.

Coca-Cola has also seen success with its Zero offering, which was rebranded to Coca-Cola Zero Sugar in 2017 and got another update this year. "Coca-Cola Zero Sugar's new recipe has rolled out in more than 50 countries and has had accelerated growth in the last three months," said Coke CEO James Quincey during an analyst call in October.

The new recipe arrived on shelves in the U.S. this summer, and since then "we have seen that 23% of current Coke Zero Sugar consumers are new," said Alex Ebanks, a spokesperson for the company, adding that Coca-Cola will continue to invest in the product next year and beyond.

While big brands sharpen their focus on their zero-sugar offerings, they face competition from other categories and upstarts with novel ideas.

One major competitor, according to Mintel's Beckett, is sparkling water.

"Many people are shifting over ... from carbonated soft drinks to sparkling waters," he said, because those drinks often have no sweeteners, no calories, and "have a more of a health healthy image."

PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have offered their own sparkling waters to get in on the trend. Coca-Cola owns Topo Chico and has a line of caffeinated sparkling water called Aha, while PepsiCo sells Bubly.

Beyond sparkling waters, competitors are entering the space with fresh spins on sodas. For example: Sodas that promote gut health.

Olipop, a startup that says it makes "a new kind of soda," sells throwback flavors like classic root beer, vintage cola and others. The sodas, which range from about 35-50 calories each, are made with a mix of ingredients like Jerusalem artichoke and Cassava root that the company says support digestive health. Poppi, which also sells traditional soda flavors in addition to fruit flavors, makes a similar claim, emblazoning a "for a healthy gut" label on the front of its brightly colored cans.

"Consumers are voting with our wallets, and sugar is something that people definitely want less of in our lives," said Danny Stepper, CEO of LA Libations, a beverage company incubator. "That opens the door for a lot of opportunities and categories," he said. "Consumers want new things, so that's opening the door to new ideas."

View post:
Looking for 'diet' soda? It may be harder to find these days - WESH Orlando

Weight loss trends come and go as quickly as the DoorDash delivery guy, but there is one exceptional diet that doesnt seem to be going anywhere, and thats intermittent fasting. Its benefits go far beyond the simple weight loss other diets promise, and current research has just scratched the surface, leaving much more to learn. Intermittent fasting has been linked to better immunity and lower disease rates because foregoing food for a short period has been shown to help the body's immune system fight off infections. Studies also show it may help stop the clock on aging, fend off obesity, and lead to longer lifespans.

The most popular type of intermittent fasting is time-restricted eating, or only eating within an 8-to-10 hour window each day. Another well-publicized alternative method is known as alternate-day fasting, which involves fasting for longer windows of time, such as 24 hours or even 36 hours, followed by periods of unrestricted eating.

It appears to work for weight loss and disease prevention, according to some scientific studies. But is alternate-day fasting practical and effective for the long term compared to typical calorie-restricted diets?

We consulted the research and nutrition experts for a holistic answer. Here, youll find an explanation of what clinical trials have shown, plus practical advice from Skylar Griggs, MS, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian and owner of Newbury Street Nutrition as well as lead dietitian for the preventive cardiology division at Childrens Hospital Boston; and Jill Edwards, MS, CEP, Director of Education for the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies.

The alternate-day method of intermittent fasting allows for unrestricted eating one day, or feasting, followed by a full day of fasting. On fasting days, advocates for this style of intermittent fasting suggest consuming only 25 percent ofyour normal caloric intake, rather than foregoing food altogether. So if your normal food intake amounts to 2,000 calories a day, you would eat 500 calories on fasting days, according to this plan.

Comparing alternate-day fasting with calorie-restricting diets, studies havesuggestedthat they work equally wellfor weight losssince at the end of the week you've had approximately the samenumberof calories on each.People on analternate-day fasting dieteat about one-third fewer calories overall for the week,which is comparable to a calorie-restricted diet.

On an alternate-dayfastingdiet,you would eat about 9,500 calories over the course of a week,or about 1,000 less than if youate 1,500 calories per day on a calorie-restricteddiet. This is significantly less than the standard 2,000 calorie-a-dayintake which amountsto 14,000 caloriesover the course of a week and would result in losing between 1 and 2 pounds a week (since a pound is equal to 3,500 calories).

Proponents of this diet method tout the freedom it allows on feasting days: Diet only half the time! proclaims the subtitle on one popular book on the subject. Delay, dont deny, declares another.Covers of these books feature images of processed and animal foods, like donuts and burgers.

There are no widely accepted guidelines on what to eat on feasting days, and this is certainly a big part of the appeal for many who try it: The reward for fasting is feasting! Still, if weight loss is a goal, it stands to reason that choosing plant-based whole foods like nutritious fruits and vegetables, whole grains and legumes, nuts, and seeds would be much more beneficial than processed junk, and lead to better health as well.

Many people will begin their feasting day by eating soon after waking up,then continuing to eat as they wish through bedtime.Others might fast from after dinner one day say, from 7 p.m. on Sunday and then break their fast for a 7 p.m. with dinner the following day, in this example, Monday evening. They wouldthen have afeasting day on Tuesday, through 7 p.m., and then fast on Wednesday.

People can plan their alternate-day fasting schedule in advance and decide which days of the week they choose as fasting or feasting days. A fasting day might include nothing more than a light lunch and an early modest dinner, so its better to plan to feast on days that include social engagements.

If this sounds like something you would like to try, there is science behind why and how it works. (If not, you're not the only one who finds the schedule unappealing, studies show.)

Research has shownthat animals placed ona variety of fasting regimens, including alternate-day fasting, experienceextraordinary health benefits, including longer life spans, and slowed or reversed signs of aging. They also benefit from a reduced incidence of disease and other negative health outcomes, including diabetes, cancer, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and obesity.

While human research is still emerging, a 2017 randomized controlled trial study on obese adults was less optimistic than the animal studies, showing the subjects who tried alternate-day fasting had the same amount ofweight loss as thegroup assigned to a traditional calorie-restricted diet. One note: The people in the alternate-day fasting group did not adhere to the prescribed calorie count, eating more than the recommendedamount on fasting days, and alsoless than they were supposed to eat on feasting days. The dropout rate was also higher in the alternate-day fasting group (38 percent)thanthe calorie-restricted group (29 percent), indicating it's harder to sustain this type of dieting.

A more recent randomized controlled trial study on alternate-day fasting in healthy humansshowed more positive results. The 2019 report showed a number of beneficial outcomes for the alternate-day fasting group compared to the control group.

The benefits of alternate-day fasting included:Body fat loss (particularly around the belly); improved cardiovascular health; reduced levels of an age-associated inflammatory marker; and lower levels of LDL (or so-called "bad") cholesterol.

So, with promising initial findings, why isnt everyone fasting? One perspective is quite simply that its hard to go without food for large chunks of time. Unlike a lab animal, most humans arentfedrestricted rations on a controlled schedule. We also dont live in a carefully monitored biodome, and people on a Western diet are used to eatingthree meals a day plus snacks. There's little support or precedence for eating differently.

But for people trying to lose weight, more traditional calorie-restricted diets pose their own challenges. Our bodies havent caught up to the evolution of our food systems were still hard-wired to prefer calorie-dense foods such as sweetsand high-fat foods, which would have been a rare and valuable find for our foraging ancestors but are now readily available at every drive-through, food court, vending machine and grocery store.

This biologically-ingrained urge to indulge is what drives many dieters to try alternate-day fasting, since it allowsthem to eat with abandon several days a week. This kind of freedom surely comes as a relief for anyone who is tired of constantly counting carbs or calories.

Plus, thepotential benefits ofslowing the aging process, improving cardiovascular health, and slashing LDL cholesterol while helping the immune system fight off potential infections likely attract a few takers too.

Skylar Griggs, MS, RD, has counseled thousands of clients on their nutrition and weight loss goals over the course of her career, but she has not recommended alternate-day or any style of fasting to any of them, for a few reasons.

First, the majority of the studies conducted on alternate-day fasting so far have been on animals. And for those studies done on humans, weight loss has not appeared to be significantly different than for people following standard calorie-restricted diets.Weight loss and weight management are the primary reasons people come to me, she said, And the research on weight loss is fairly limited. Second, people show poor long-term adherence to extreme diets, Griggs has found, and she putsalternate-day fasting in this category.

Any diet that is extreme and not approachable is hard to follow, said Griggs. Any diet you cant do 80/20 [80 percent healthy, 20 percentwiggle room] is not sustainable. When the plan is a bit malleable when it can bend a little bit people are more likely to stay with it.

Alternating between feast and famine days could also have negative effects on the metabolism, Griggs says,ultimatelyinhibiting weight loss and causing other health issues.

I think any time you restrict yourself down to 500 calories, youre just creating a disaster," she warns. "The body is so hungry, its likely to cause a decrease in metabolism and your body to go into starvation mode, Griggs said. Youll be more likely to overdo it the next day, and then with binge-type days, over time, triglycerides and blood pressure can become elevated.

The black-and-white thinking that alternate-day fasting encourages can be worrisome for people prone to eating disorders, says Griggs, who served as the lead outpatient dietician for Renfrew Center of New Jersey, an outpatient center for women with eating disorders,It follows a pretty typical eating disorder pattern: Restrict. Binge. Restrict again."

Overall, Griggs advised that people seeking to lose weight should stick to a more traditional plan and avoid going more than 4-5 hours without food during the day to keep the metabolism chugging along and avoid late-night eatingsince that'swhen people are most likely to overeat.

I think a lot of people are looking for the shiny new thing they think is going to be the answer," Griggs said. "But the things that are good for your healthare not usually super sexy. Instead, she advises: Eat fruits. Eat vegetables. Increase your fiber intake. Include healthy fats. Eat consistently during the day. These are not going to be on the cover of a magazine, but theyre definitely good for your health.

For those still bent on giving alternate-day fasting a try, Griggs has this advice: Whatever [diet] you decide to do, getting a dietician looped in is super important. Get the support of someone who is based in science and has gone through a lot of school, training, accredited programs, and hospital internships. Dont just go to, say, your gym for advice.

Alternate-day fasting style is not the number-one choice of another respected expert,Jill Edwards, MS, CEP of the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition. For Edwards, the main objection is primarily for practical reasons.

Research has shown that it is not at all sustainable. Life happens. You have a luncheon, your kids have a birthday party. If youre only eating 500 calories a day, it makes it hard to sit down for dinner with your family, Edwards said. She has a personal friend who'd tried the diet style.

Id ask her to get lunch, and shed say, I cant, this is not my eating day, Edwards said. I think she lasted two weeks. The same friend then switched over to the time-restricted version of intermittent fasting, which requires eating every day within an 8- or 10-, or even 12-hour window. She had great success with this approach, which is the same type of intermittent fasting that Edwards herself practices and advocates.

More people would be medically eligible to practice this eating pattern as opposed to alternate-day fasting, Edwards notes, because of the comparatively shorter periods of fasting. With time-restricted eating, you get all the benefits of intermittent fasting, but its much more manageable. Youre eating according to your bodys internal clock,your circadian rhythms, and keeping the same cycle every day, she said.

Your body utilizes more fat stores in the morning as its way of planning to get through the day without the need to eat through the night. And then on the other end of that, you automatically cut out late-night eating, which is what sabotages your circadian rhythms, and according to research, leads to weight gain.

In other words, because people practicing the time-restricted version of intermittent fasting will eat, say, only between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., they strategically use the bodys tendency to burn fat stores in the morning, and also shut down snacking at night, which is the time people generally go off the rails with their calorie intake and make poor food choices.

There is a magic number. We should not consume any calories not one piece of fruit or a cracker after 7 p.m. That way you have less gastrointestinal distress, higher sleep quality, and better weight management, Edwards said (though she personally makes exceptions on the weekends).

For people who want to make a go of the alternate-day fasting diet anyway, Edwards advised that they choose their feast day foods with care. You want to make the most of the calories and choose nutrient-dense foods on the days youre eating a lot. Dont stuff your face with calorically dense food that isnt nutrient-dense, she said.

As far as whether the health benefits of fasting would be compromised if one binged on junk food during their feast day, Edwards said the jury was out. Its hard to say because fasting is very powerful. But to me, its like smoking a cigarette and having an orange afterward. The orange is going to help scavenge some of the free radicals, but not all of them. So my thing is, dont smoke the cigarette, she said.

For the fasting-curious, Edwards pointed to the TrueNorth Health Center, a facility that specializes in medically supervised water fasting, as a resource for many well-documented case studies of the powerful effects of fasting on health. And, like Griggs, Edwards advised anyone considering trying alternate-day fasting to consult a medical professional first.

While experts dont all agree on whether any type of intermittent fasting is to be advised, recent studies and the two above-featured nutrition experts all align on at least five points when it comes to alternate-day fasting.

Check with your dietician or medical expert before you embark on any new diet. If you decide to try alternate-day fasting (and youre medically cleared to do so), choosing foods that are mostly plant-based and healthy on feast days, rather than processed foods high in unhealthy saturated fat and added sugar, is likely to enhance your results.

See the rest here:
Should You Try Alternate-Day Fasting? Here's What the Experts Say - The Beet

MILWAUKEE (PRWEB) December 17, 2021

In an AAEA session taking place at the 2022 ASSA Annual Meeting [Food Prices and the Affordability of Healthy Diets: New Data and Methods to Inform Agriculture, Food Systems, Safety Nets and Nutrition Programs, AAEA members provide new data on whether people can afford to eat healthy foods around the world. Research presented in this session begins with work underlying the United Nations estimate that about 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet worldwide, and adds new insights on impacts of COVID, long-term trends and historical perspectives on retail markets and food access in the U.S. and globally.

Yan Bai, Tufts UniversityAnna Herforth, IndependentNada Hamadeh, World Bank Development Data Group

Jessica Wallingford, Tufts UniversityAishwarya Venkat, Tufts UniversityWilliam Masters, Tufts University

Michail Moatsos, Utrecht University

Robert C. Allen, New York University

If you are interested in viewing this virtual session with a free Media & Press Registration on Friday, January 7 from 3:45 pm 5:45 pm Easter, please contact Allison Ware in the AAEA Business Office.

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Food Prices and the Affordability of Healthy Diets: New Data and Methods to Inform Agriculture, Food Systems, Safety Nets and Nutrition Programs - PR...

Martin Clunes, 60, explained he managed to lose over three stone thanks to the 5:2 diet.

"Its great and its supposed to be good for cholesterol, too."

He continued: "Now I do 6:1 and that seems to work fine.

"I eat anything I want on the other days.

"Its easy and seems to keep the weight off me."

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The actor also attributed his weight loss to the regular exercise he practices on his farm.

"I have a couple of big horses and ride them.

"Im very healthy.

"This is a difficult age, obviously, but Im doing fine Im not on any medication.

However, for two non-consecutive days, slimmers should eat just 25 percent of their usual calorie intake.

That would be 500 calories for women and 600 for men.

There are no restrictions on foods but it is expected that women and men lose around one pound a week.

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Martin Clunes weight loss: Actor lost 3 stone with simple and 'easy' diet - 'it's great' - Express

Express News Service

Food has acquireda new religionPeganism. The current buzzword in the wellness circuit is the pegan plan, which includes 75 percent vegetables and 25 percent high-quality meat. And it is for the inveterate weightwatchers. Most of us are familiar with either of the two surrogates of the pegan planpaleo and vegan. Presented to the world by the US-based Cleveland Clinic doctor and bestselling author Dr Mark Hyman in 2015, the pegan diet supports a novel practice of nourishment by integrating the cores of the paleo diet with veganism. Astonishingly at the start, paleo and vegan diets seem to be an erratic combo in nature as the former is meat-based and the latter excludes any kind of animal product. Pegan inherits the best of both worldsplant-rich, whole foods, healthy fats with minimum processed foods, and reduced sugar and starch intake.

Understanding the PlanDr Hyman advocates nutritious plant foods low in sugar and starch and those which promote HDL (high-density lipid) or good fat like nuts and seeds, olive oil and avocados. Nutritionist Ritu Gupta, the founder of Nutrique, a New Delhi-based weight and health management portal, explains, The pegan diet focuses strongly on whole foods that are plant-basedand discourages eating conventionally farmed meats or eggs.

Instead,it places emphasis on grass-fed, pasture-raised sources of poultry, and whole eggs. It does help reduce inflammation and maintain blood sugar levels naturally for a healthier you. Anisha Arora Chopra, a 37-year-old dentist from Raipur, who found it difficult to followit in the initial stages, testifies the beneficial effects of this regimen. After a month into the pegan diet, it felt amazing. I saw many changes, some of which were that I lost six kilos in two months. My anxiety attacks stopped occurring and I slept better, she states. Chopra says that her blood sugarlevels are in better control without any medicines,she can focus better on work and personal life, and is an overall happier person now.

The Nutritional GapThere is no definition of an ideal diet. Every eating habit we have comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Nutraceutical Formulation expert and the founder of supplement brand PRO2FIT, Saurabh Shah answers: Essentially, every diet choice we make needs to be supplemented well to avoid lack of nutrient deficiency. Vegans usually find it difficult to meet their daily protein, calcium, Vitamin B12 needs. It becomes necessary to complement it with the right kind of supplements so that the deficiency of these is met to avoid complications.

Starch is an essential part of our diet as they provide energy to the body. Avoiding any particular macro-nutrient from the diet is not advisable. Everything, when eatenin proportion, serves its purpose in the body and the same applies to starch and carbs. Carbs (starch, fibre, sugar) are a good source of energy, iron, Vitamin B, provided it is not processed, advises Shah.

Chefs TakeUnlike vegan, its not featured in restaurant menus yet but awareness among chefs is created by requests for preparations with specific ingredients. Ganesh Chandrakant Teli, the Executive Chef at The Leela Palace Jaipur, who innovated sweet potato burritos and shrimp with zucchini noodles on a guests request, says, It can be compared to the very popular Mediterranean dietfresh and organic ingredients, heart-friendly, obesity-controlled and aids inkeeping disorders at bay.

The pegan diet is trending as it allows vegans to have animal products in moderation.It broadens their dietary choices, and lowers the chance of developing deficiencies. This is something Indians have been following since long, concludes Dietician Rajat Jain, founder of Health Wealth Diet Clinic.

Pegan meal bowlRecipe by Balvinder Pal Singh Lubana, Executive Chef Marriott, Hyderabad

Ingredients French beans 50 gm Button mushroom 50 gm Broccoli 25 gm Cherry Tomatoes 6 pieces Bok Choy 50 gm Zucchini 3 pieces Brussels sprouts 4 gm Hald an Avocado Coconut oil (unrefined) 1 tsp Poached Eggs 2 Boiled chickpeas 1 cup Chopped garlic cloves 4 Chopped onions 1 Himalayan pink salt to taste A spring of basil

Method Wash and clean allvegetables thoroughly before processing In a deep pan, add water to boil chickpeas Cut the mushrooms into or . They need to be even-sized. Cut broccoli into florets. Peel the asparagus. Cut the French beans into batons, and zucchini into batons. Add salt, garlic to the mushrooms, and set aside. In a pan, add broccoli and a little water, salt and steam the broccoli. Repeat with the beans and zucchini. In a sauce pan, add the garlic, 1 tsp coconut oil and roast till the raw smell goes away Add the mushroom and saut till mushrooms are done. Remove and saut the bokchoy. Add 1 tsp oil, and add the rest of the garlic and the cooled chickpea and saut In a deep pot, bring water to a boil, add a little salt and vinegar, swirl the water with a perforated spoon and slowly add whole egg so it coagulates. Take out once the exterior is firmand transfer intocold water.

To assemble In a wide bowl, add the bokchoy, 1-2 tsp sauted chickpeas, 1 tsp mushrooms, the vegetables, and poached egg. Garnish with chopped basil, sliced avocado, and cherry tomatoes. Serve immediately

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Embrace the best of meat and veggies with a 'pegan' diet plan - The New Indian Express