ATLANTA (CNN) Who won the 2020 battle of the diets?

For the third year in a row, the well-researched Mediterranean diet KO'd the competition to win gold in U.S. News and World Report's 2020 ranking of best diets. The report, released last week, is now in its 10th year.

"The hallmarks of a 'best' diet include balance, maintainability, palatability, family-friendliness, sustainability, along with healthfulness. The Mediterranean diet gets checkmarks in all of those boxes," said Yale University Prevention Research Center founding director Dr. David Katz, who was one of 25 judges on the U.S. News and World Report panel.

"It's no surprise that the Mediterranean diet remains the No. 1 best diet overall," said nutritionist Lisa Drayer, a CNN contributor. "It's easy to follow and offers a healthy eating lifestyle."

The Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes simple, plant-based cooking, also captured first place in best diet for healthy eating, easiest diet to follow, best plant-based diet and best diet for diabetes.

Meals from the sunny Mediterranean have been linked to stronger bones, a healthier heart, a lower risk of dementia and breast cancer, and longer life, along with a reduced risk for diabetes and high blood pressure.

The diet focuses on eating less red meat, sugar and saturated fat and more Omega-3-rich fish and olive oil. Red wine can be enjoyed in moderation and socializing with friends and family during meals is part of the prescription.

Following closely behind the Mediterranean diet were the respected DASH, Flexitarian, WW (the rebranded name popularly known as Weight Watchers) and MIND diets. Their high rankings are a trend in the report's results each year.

"We're interested in diets that have proven staying value not fad diets that are here today, gone tomorrow," said Angela Haupt, managing editor of health at U.S. News & World Report. "The diets that perform well are safe, sensible and backed by sound science. That's going to be consistent from year to year."

The DASH diet is often recommended to lower blood pressure. Its premise is simple: Eat more veggies, fruits and low-fat dairy foods while cutting way back on any food high in saturated fat, and limit your intake of salt.

Studies have shown following this diet can reduce blood pressure in a matter of weeks.

The flexitarian diet tied with the DASH diet for second place because of its emphasis on whole grains, fruits, veggies and plant-based proteins. It's basically a vegetarian diet that allows the occasional piece of meat or fish, thus making it "flexible."

The MIND diet is a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets that some may find a bit easier to follow, as it requires less fish and fruit. Both MIND, which stands for "Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay," and the Mediterranean diet have been shown to lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease in studies.

WW came in fourth on the best diet list but took first place in the report's ranking of best weight loss and commercial weight loss programs. Not only is the diet healthy, the panel said, but it wins top points for stressing the importance of support for dieters.

Despite winning the respect of nutritionists, WW has been losing market share this year; the company's CEO told analysts the loss was due to the growing popularity of the keto diet, which makes carbs taboo.

Speaking of the keto craze ...

Sure to upset its legions of fans, the trendy keto diet came in next to last in the ranking of 35 diets, just ahead of the obscure Dukan diet.

Both diets aim for "ketosis," a metabolic state that burns the body's stores of fat instead of carbohydrates, the body's natural source of energy. To do that, the diets restrict carb intake to levels nutritionists feel are highly unhealthy as well as completely unsustainable.

In the keto diet, Drayer said, "carbs are limited to about 20 grams per day," the equivalent of one small banana or apple. Due to the drastic cut in carbs, the diet can cause "headaches, nausea, dizziness and fatigue, particularly in the beginning," she said, adding that "long-term studies on its effectiveness are lacking."

Spending your life weight-obsessed, and going on and off diets, is no way to live. One of the things we hope to convey to the American public is that it's time to grow up about diet and give it more respect.Dr. David Katz

In place of carbs, the keto diet emphasizes high levels of protein, fats and dairy, typically full of saturated fat that can contribute to cardiovascular and other chronic diseases.

"I am not a fan of the keto diet, though it may be helpful as a 'jump start' to weight loss and can help you quickly rid your diet of processed carbs and sugars," Drayer said.

Which may be why the keto diet tied for third place in the race for best "fast" weight loss diet.

First place in the get-rid-of-fat-quick category went to HMR, the Health Management Resources program. It involves purchasing meal replacements from HMR, such as shakes, nutrition bars and multigrain cereals, and adding vegetables and fruits to round out the meals.

Second place went to Optavia, which used to be called Medifast. It, too, wants you to buy and eat many of the company's pre-packaged products, supplemented by some foods at home.

Both diets could be difficult to follow, Haupt said, "because prepackaged meals tend to get old fast."

The highly ranked WW tied for third, along with Jenny Craig, which ranked 12th in the best overall diet list.

But the low/no-carb diet Atkins and the keto diet also tied for third place, despite ranking in the deep bottom of other diet categories, such as best diet, most healthy diet and best diets for heart health and diabetes. Ironically, HMR and Optavia joined them toward the bottom of the other categories.

Why would diets that are considered good at helping drop weight quickly be ranked so badly overall?

"The 'best' way to lose weight fast is to do something very silly, unsustainable and arguably irresponsible. It's not truly best just fast," said Katz, who is the president of the True Health Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to health promotion and disease prevention

"Many things that are truly bad for health can cause short-term weight loss," Katz said. "The most effective diets for 'fast' weight loss impose severe restrictions that cannot be maintained and would not be compatible with health if they were."

That's because quick weight loss diets usually emphasize some drastic cut in nutrients or the elimination of an entire food group that can't be maintained over time. When the diet stops, the weight comes back, often at higher levels than at the start of the diet. It's the body's response to "yo-yo" dieting, studies show.

"Spending your life weight-obsessed, and going on and off diets, is no way to live," Katz said. "One of the things we hope to convey to the American public is that it's time to grow up about diet and give it more respect.

"Grown-ups don't generally expect to 'get rich fast'; they understand the need to work, over time," Katz continued. "But everyone thinks there is some magic formula they haven't tried yet for rapid weight loss. The consensus of the U.S. News judges is a resounding rebuke of that silly idea."

The-CNN-Wire & 2018 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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Best and worst diets for 2020, ranked by experts, with a popular one near last - KSL.com

Letters

I am writing in response to Froma Harrops column in the Jan. 5 Herald about Veganuary, the month-long commitment to plant-based eating that she calls a cultish mindset. Harrop may eat whatever she chooses, but more than a few moments thought are needed to understand the point of a vegan diet.

No cult was involved in my choice to forego all animal products 12 years ago. Like many vegans, it began with my love of animals. It was solidified by scientific evidence of environmental and personal health benefits.

The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently issued a special report in which 107 scientists from more than 50 countries declared plant-based food and fuels as key to the climate change fight.

The National Institutes of Health published a study concluding vegetarian diets represent an effective means for the prevention and treatment of cardio-metabolic diseases and benefits seem to be greater with vegan than lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets.

Consumer Reports reported two-thirds of chicken meat they analyzed was infected with salmonella and/or campylobacter due to filthy conditions at factory farms.

Humane Society International states an animal-based diet causes immense animal suffering from practices ranging from factory farming and intensive confinement to inhumane handling and slaughtering. The Washington Post, The New Yorker and others have exposed cruelty at factory farms.

Please give a plant-based diet more than a few moments thought. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine website (pcrm.org) provides links to clinical studies on nutrition and health, as well as free recipes and a 21-day meal plan.

Valerie Edmunds

Mill Creek

More here:
Harrop column wrong about the reasons for a vegan diet - The Daily Herald

Scientists are increasingly certain that Alzheimers and other dementias are caused by many factors. Genetics certainly play a major role, but researchers are increasingly focusing on other issues such as inflammation, blood pressure and type 2 diabetes, among others. Even conditions such as untreated depression and anxiety are believed to contribute to the likelihood of developing dementia.

Thats why a new review that confirms that your diet can significantly influence mental health and well-being is drawing attention. Published in the peer-reviewed journal European Neuropsychopharmacology, the review found increasing evidence of a link between a poor diet and the worsening of mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Among the reviews specific findings:

A high fat and low carbohydrate diet (also known as a ketogenic diet) can help children with epilepsy.

A vitamin B12 deficiency can contribute to fatigue, poor memory and depression.

A Mediterranean diet, high in vegetables and olive oil, provides some protection against depression and anxiety.

But the reviews lead author Suzanne Dickson of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden cautions that studies about specific conditions are often spotty at best. With individual conditions, we often found very mixed evidence, she said in a news release.

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

One independent scientist who reviewed the study said that despite high-quality research (mostly involving animals), much remains to be discovered about the connection between nutrition and mental health in humans.

This comprehensive review sheds light on hypes and hopes, facts and fictions in the new field of nutritional psychiatry, Andreas Reid, a professor at University Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, said in the news release.

The potential societal impact of this rapidly developing field is enormous, Reid cautioned. We must be scientifically sound in making our recommendations.

While researchers cannot point to one specific diet as the key to lessening depression, scientists are increasingly certain that getting evaluated and treated for depression can improve or maintain cognitive function in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which is considered to be the first stage of Alzheimers.

In addition, older adults with depression are believed to be twice as likely to develop dementia, and 65 percent more likely to develop Alzheimers.

Researchers are also increasingly certain that eating better and reducing weight to address issues such as type 2 diabetes, blood pressure and other so-called lifestyle conditions can make a difference in lowering risk for dementia. Boosting exercise is also seen as key.

The World Health Organization published a report on ways to prevent dementia, including undertaking 150 minutes a week of aerobic exercise, eating a balanced diet and drinking in moderation (or not at all).

Continued here:
Can Diet Improve Mental Health? Examining the Link Between the Brain and What You Eat - Being Patient

NewsHealthDr Michael Greger, author of the new book How Not to Diet, explains how minor changes in your lifestyle can aid you in shedding pounds

Tuesday, 7th January 2020, 7:00 pm

There are specific foods that double as fat blockers and fat burners, for example, and starch blockers and appetite suppressants. And did you know that the different timing, frequencies and combinations of foods can also matter?

Here are 21 tips that can supplement broader advice on losing weight. You dont have to complete the full checklist every day you dont have to hit any.

Its easy to knock off a bunch at a time, however. For example, starting a meal with a tomato salad sprinkled with some black cumin, garlic powder and balsamic vinegar ticks off five boxes straight away.

1 Preload with water

Cold water boosts your metabolism. Have two cups before each meal to also help you feel more full.

2 Preload with 'negative calorie' foods

Just changing the order in which you eat your foods can have meaningful metabolic impact. Starting each meal with an apple, light soup or salad may also later reduce your appetite for other, high-calorie-density foods.

3 Enjoy undistracted meals

Dont eat while watching TV or playing on your phone.

4 Follow the 20-minute rule

Studies have demonstrated that boosting the amount of time food is in our mouths can result in lower caloric intake, so extend meal duration to at least 20 minutes. Choose bulkier, harder, chewier foods and take smaller, well-chewed bites.

5 Incorporate vinegar

Flavour meals or dress a side salad with two teaspoons of vinegar, as it has been found to assist in weight loss.

6 Cumin

A half teaspoon of regular cumin at lunch and dinner has been shown to help lose weight.

7 Black cumin

Trials have found that a quarter teaspoon of black cumin powder every day also appears to reduce body mass index.

8 Garlic powder

Studies have found that a daily quarter teaspoon of garlic powder can reduce body fat.

9 Ground ginger and cayenne pepper

Trials have found that teaspoon to 1 teaspoons a day of ground ginger decreased body weight. It can be as easy as stirring the ground spice into a cup of hot water. Alternatively, adding a half teaspoon of red pepper powder into your daily diet can also help burn fat.

10 Nutritional yeast

Two teaspoons of brewers, bakers, and nutritional yeasts contains a type of fibre called beta-glucan and trials have found it can facilitate weight loss.

11 Green tea

Drink three cups a day between meals (waiting at least an hour after a meal so as to not interfere with iron absorption). During meals, drink water, black coffee, or hibiscus tea mixed 6:1 with lemon verbena.

12 Stay hydrated

Have nine cups of unsweetened beverages a day for women which would be taken care of by the green tea and water preloading recommendations or 13 cups a day for men. (If you have heart or kidney issues, dont increase fluid intake without first talking with your doctor.) Avoid diet fizzy drinks they may be calorie-free, but their artificial sweeteners are associated with increased weight gain and abdominal fat over time.

13 De-flour your diet

Whole grains are better than refined grains when were trying to lose weight. But eating intact whole grains - such as muesli, brown rice and solid beans - rather than those that have been powdered, is also beneficial in feeding our good gut bacteria with starch. Instead of buying boxed breakfast cereals, make oatmeal out of whole, intact oats.

14 Front-load your calories

There are metabolic benefits to distributing more calories to earlier in the day, so make breakfast (ideally) or lunch your largest meal of the day.

15 Time-restrict your eating

Confine eating to a consistent daily window of under 12 hours in length.

16 Optimise exercise timing

Ninety minutes of moderately intense activity a day is also the optimum exercise duration for weight loss. Anytime is good, but there may be an advantage to exercising at least six hours after your last meal, so typically before breakfast, before a late lunch, or before dinner if youve had an early lunch.

17 Complete your implementation intentions

Change your existing bad habits to good ones, or establish new good habits, using implementation intentions. Instead of vague self-promises to do our best, these are specific if-then plans. For example: If I get hungry after dinner, I will eat an apple.

18 Weigh yourself twice a day

Regular self-weighing is considered crucial for long-term weight control.

19 Fast after 7pm

Because of our circadian rhythms, food eaten at night is more fattening than the exact same food eaten earlier in the day.

20 Get sufficient sleep

21 Experiment with mild Trendelenburg

Try spending at least four hours a night lying with your body tilted head-down six degrees, towards the "Trendelenburg position" by elevating the posts at the foot of your bed by eight inches, as this pulls more blood into the heart and encourages it to release a fat-burning hormone. Ask a GP first about trying this do not attempt it if you have any heart or lung issues, acid reflux, or problems with your brain or eyes. And be careful when you get out of bed as it can make you feel light-headed.

Read the original here:
Nutritionist's 21 tweaks to boost your healthy diet and help you lose weight - inews

Keto doesnt have to be so serious.

Thats the premise behind the new cookbook, The Dirty, Lazy, Keto Cookbook (Adams Media), out Tuesday. It features 100 recipes by Stephanie Laska, a California mother of two, and is co-authored by her husband of 16 years, William.

Ive always struggled with my weight, says Laska, 46. I actually thought I was being healthy, eating low-fat muffins, drinking skim milk, having dried fruit and granola bars.

Laska says that shes an emotional eater. Despite weighing close to 300 pounds in her 20s and early 30s, she still thought she was doing everything right. She was active and had no blood-pressure issues, so she was totally in denial.

But the reality of her situation started dawning on her. The first time I realized there was a problem was when I was flying for a job interview and I couldnt get the seat belt to snap, Laska says.

Then, she had a harrowing experience on a ride with her son at Disneyland, when her stomach prevented the safety bar from closing all the way down, leaving a huge gap.

He had no protection at all, and I panicked, thinking this is rock bottom, Laska says. Its one thing to feel embarrassed about a seat belt, its another thing to feel like I put my child in danger.

When she got home, she talked to a formerly heavy friend who had recently lost a lot of weight.

He told me about eating higher fat foods, moderate protein and lower-carb, basically keto, Laska says. So I started researching and experimenting in the kitchen. I like to eat and needed a diet that allows food.

After some extreme trial and error in the kitchen, she lost 10 pounds in a month, and the weight kept coming off. A year and a half later, she had lost about 140 pounds. Laska has maintained her weight loss for seven years.

Dirty keto means breaking the rules, Laska says. It means youre more flexible. When I say lazy keto, its a style of keto that means only counting net carbs. Im not using a bunch of graphs and calculators.

Laska says you can make vegetables delicious by romancing them with butter, cream and sauces.

At the end of a long day, I used to eat two bags of popcorn or handfuls of trail mix, Laska says. Now, I eat a giant bowl of salad or sweet potato boats. Ill eat whole platters of twice-baked potatoes with no shame.

Keep costs downYou dont have to get your ingredients at a fancy grocery store, Laska says. I use coupons at Walmart, she adds, noting that her food budget has not gone up since creating her lazy keto recipes.

Slice it upPre-cut produce makes for easier snacking and less waste. I keep chopped up veggies and cheese sticks in the fridge for easy snacking, Laska says. And I keep healthier foods at eye level in the fridge.

Prep with purposeIll make a giant Crock-Pot or Instant Pot of chicken or ground turkey on Sunday or Monday, and then use that all week to add to my salads and whatever else Im cooking, Laska says. Ill add it to soups, tacos or enchiladas. Those machines are little miracles to me.

Originally posted here:
How this mom of two lost 140 pounds on the keto diet - New York Post

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. Are you one of the millions of Americans eyeing a new diet in the New Year?

One of the most searched for diets online in 2019 was the keto diet.

But just what, exactly, does a keto diet look like?

According to Cleveland Clinics Camille Skoda, RD, the keto diet involves reducing carbohydrate intake down to about five percent.

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb, moderate protein, eating plan, she said. What is does, is it switches your bodys fuel source from the normal carbohydrates which is your glucose stores over to ketones. Your body produces ketones, and in turn, it can burn its own fat for fuel.

Skoda said the main goal of the keto diet, for many people, is to lose weight and improve their insulin-resistance. It is also used to help treat children who have epilepsy.

She said the biggest gain from going keto includes removing processed foods from the diet such as refined carbohydrates and sugary drinks.

However, she warns its not for everyone.

The keto diet is not recommended for those who have a history of eating disorders, are pregnant, or people with chronic conditions such as type-one diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or issues with fat mal-absorption.

Skoda said a typical day on the keto diet consists of moderate protein, such as chicken, and fish, but limits items such as beans, lentils, and soy protein, which are higher in carbohydrates.

More focus is given to healthy fats, such as avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, and olive oil.

Skoda said some pitfalls to avoid include over-eating processed foods, and not drinking enough fluids, which can cause an imbalance of electrolytes.

When the body switches over to using ketones for energy, it also changes the way it uses fluids. And if people are not properly hydrated, Skoda said its possible to feel flu-like symptoms as a result.

The keto flu is when youre switching into ketosis and you get some flu-like symptoms a lot of that is electrolyte imbalance so you have to make sure youre staying properly hydrated, she said. A lot of times you do need an electrolyte supplement, during at least the first part of your keto diet, just to make sure you are getting enough of the electrolytes in.

Skoda admits the keto eating plan can be difficult for people to follow, so its important for folks to listen to their bodies and pay attention to how theyre feeling.

Like any eating plan, she said its better to start under the guidance of a health professional.

People who are already on a restricted diet for other health issues, should consult their health team before trying it.

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What is the Keto Diet? - WZZM13.com

May 2019 was an exciting time for fans of both ancient history and starchy vegetables, as archaeologists announced they had discovered the charred remains of roasted plant starches inside a 120,000-year-old hearth at the Klasies River Caves near the southern coast of South Africa. Now, things have gotten even wilder: Archaeologists have announced the discovery of charred vegetable fragments that are 170,000 years old in the Border Caves in Eastern South Africa. Take that, Klasies River Caves!

The discovery, announced by Wits University and published in Science, further demonstrates that our early ancestors ate a balanced diet of both proteins and carbohydrates. Several dozen charcoal fragments were discovered inside the caves in 2016, buried in an ash layer that was left behind from the fires built by the caves ancient inhabitants.

The Border Cave inhabitants would have dug Hypoxis rhizomes from the hillside near the cave, and carried them back to the cave to cook them in the ashes of fireplaces, says Professor Lyn Wadley, a scientist from the Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute who co-authored the report. The fact that [these vegetables] were brought back to the cave rather than cooked in the field suggests that food was shared at the home base.

After several years of microscopic examination, the charred organic remains were finally identified to be the rhizomes (underground plant stems) of a plant from the genus Hypoxis, also known as the Yellow Star flower.

The large number of charcoal fragments discovered at the site suggests that roasted vegetables were commonly eaten by our ancestors, and that the modern perception of early humans as voracious meat eaters is inaccurate, likely skewed by the fact that animal bones are far more likely to survive for hundreds of thousands of years than plant matter. Between this and the discovery that humans were eating grains at least 32,000 years ago, the people behind The Paleo Diet have a lot of explaining to do to thousands of hangry dieters who just want a bite of mashed potato.

Original post:
Scientists discover the real paleo diet included lots of starchy vegetables - The Takeout