Grapefruit is the star in this super healthy, vegan, gluten-free, fresh salad. Strangely, grapefruit is paired with green olives. Yes, the ones in the jar with pimentos (manzanilla). The pairing goes well with dollop of ginger and splash of vinegar. Every single person I had test this creation was skeptical when I listed the ingredients and every one of them really liked it, one lady just texted me for the recipe. "It's fresh and the romaine gives great flavor and crunch," said another friend.

When you're making this salad, you'll want to segment the grapefruit so the pith and membrane are not part of your final dish (that's all the white stuff). Chop the bottom and top of the enormous fruit to make a flat surface and lay the fruit chopped side down to rest it flat on your cutting board. This is what you should do anytime you're cutting a round fruit or vegetable to make it stable so you can safely continue cutting it. Then, using your knife, slice from top to bottom around the fruit removing all peeling.

Your fruit should be a colorful, juicy ball of grapefruit. Using a sharp knife, hold the grapefruit in your hand, over your salad bowl and slice the grapefruit wedges in between the pith on each side to make a half moon of red. Place each grapefruit segment into the bowl. Continue until all wedges are cut. The grapefruit graveyard you'll have left in your hand is called the skeleton. Squeeze the skeleton juice into a jar with a lid to make the vinaigrette and the peeling have a lot of juice too. Making custom vinaigrette is simple and can really help keep salad calories low. Many times the hidden fats in salad are found in the dressing. This salad is extremely low in fat and calories. The green olives are the only fat at 2 grams per 2 tablespoons. The olives are worth their little fat because they are an anti-inflammatory and may help reduce allergy-related inflammation.

According to whfoods.com, "Olive extracts have now been shown to function as anti-histamines at a cellular level. By blocking special histamine receptors (called H1 receptors), unique components in olive extracts may help to lessen a cells histamine response. Its also possible that olives may have a special role to play as part of an overall anti-allergenic diet."

So many people that think "diet" think grapefruit. It is a low calorie, high vitamin food. Winter is the peak season for the fruit but lately they are ripe and refreshing. When you're choosing your fruit, make sure it is bright in color and heavy that means it's full of juice. You'll find tons of vitamin C and A in red and pink varieties. They are also lycopene-rich which helps fight cancer. Another interesting grapefruit study at the University of Hawaii found if smokers drink three 6-ounce glasses of grapefruit juice (not the greyhound variety) a day, it reduced the activity of a liver enzyme that is thought to activate cancer causing chemicals found in tobacco. If you're taking any medication, beware as grapefruit juice allows the medicine to stay in your bloodstream longer and may be dangerous.

This refreshing salad is healthy and should pair nicely with some of the classic Easter dishes.

Ginger Grapefruit Salad with quinoa 1 cup dry quinoa, cooked and cooled 1 grapefruit, peeled and segmented 3 Tablespoons green olives with pimento, sliced 1 head of romaine 1 Tablespoon champagne vinegar 2 teaspoons ginger teaspoon each Salt, Pepper, Sugar

Cook quinoa according to package directions. Fluff with a fork when cooked (drain or cook off excess water is there is any). Spread out on a baking sheet and cool in the refrigerator. Segment grapefruit and place pieces in the serving bowl. Save the "skeleton" for the vinaigrette. If the segments are thick, cut them in half.

Toss in green olives. Mix in cooled quinoa. When ready to serve, mix in romaine and vinaigrette. Makes 6-8 cups.

Make vinaigrette by squeezing the grapefruit "skeleton" juice into a jar- should have 1-2 Tablespoons. Mix in 1 Tablespoon champagne or white wine vinegar. Whisk in 2 teaspoons minced ginger (I prefer the jarred or tube ginger for this recipe) and teaspoon each salt, pepper and sugar. Close lid and shake. Taste test and adjust as necessary.

Tracy Miller is a private chef and caterer in the Vail valley and can be reached at tracy@colorfulcooking.com or log onto ColorfulCooking.com. Tracy's culinary mission is to add fruits and vegetables to every meal.

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Vail Today: Add a ginger grapefruit salad to your Easter meal - Vail Daily News

Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (aka the DASH diet) is celebrating 20 years of helping people with hypertension and pre-hypertension lower blood pressure just as well as some medications. It has the potential to lower health-care costs and has been a component of the national dietary guidelines for over 10 years. So why are so few people using it?

What is the DASH diet?

The DASH diet emphasizes foods rich in protein, fiber, potassium, magnesium and calcium and low in saturated fat, sugar and salt. On your plate, that looks like plenty of fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts, fish, poultry, whole grains and low-fat dairy, with fewer fatty meats and sweets. Although DASH is not a reduced-sodium diet, lowering sodium intake by eating whole foods over processed foods enhances the diet's effect.

The original trial of the DASH diet showed reductions in both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure across subgroups of gender, race and ethnicity and in hypertensive and pre-hypertensive patients. Further studies have found that adherence to the DASH diet lowered total and LDL cholesterol, reduced the risk of coronary heart disease and stroke even throughout several years of follow-up, and reduced bone turnover, improving bone health.

Who should use the DASH diet?

The DASH diet is recommended by the American Heart Association and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute because of its blood-pressure-lowering effects for hypertensive adults, and it's also been shown to be effective for pre-hypertensive patients. So if your blood pressure is elevated or you've been diagnosed with hypertension, the DASH diet is for you.

What if you don't have high blood pressure?

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say the model eating plan for all Americans is the DASH diet, because it outlines a generally healthy diet from which anyone can benefit. Following the DASH diet's principles will mean you're eating a nutrient-rich yet not calorie-dense diet that has been shown to be helpful for promoting weight loss and maintenance.

A growing body of evidence suggests DASH is also helpful for managing diabetes, preventing cancer and improving kidney health.

Why aren't more people following the DASH diet?

If the DASH diet is so beneficial and well studied, why isn't everyone following it? Analyses of health and nutrition in the United States from 1988 to 2012 showed that less than 1 percent of the population adhered to the DASH diet and that only 20 percent met half of the recommended nutrient levels in DASH.

Compare these numbers to the half of Americans who have high blood pressure, and we can safely say there's plenty of work to be done to increase adherence to the DASH diet.

Dori Steinberg, a research scholar at Duke University, says one of the reasons the DASH diet hasn't taken off is that its recommended foods aren't so accessible as fast food and processed foods. "It's much easier to grab a fast-food burger and fries than it is to make a spinach salad with strawberries," she says.

Although the DASH diet can certainly be followed on a tight budget, changing the food environment to make healthy options such as fruits and vegetables more affordable and widely available at convenience stores, grab-and-go restaurants, community facilities and more is key to increasing adherence.

Most hypertensive patients who would benefit from counseling on the DASH diet see primary-care physicians exclusively and therefore receive little nutrition counseling beyond suggestions about lowering sodium in the diet. The poor adherence to the DASH diet presents a call to action for primary-care physicians to become more familiar with the diet and to refer patients to registered dietitians, who can provide the dietary counseling people need to put DASH into action.

Getting more Americans on the DASH diet

The key to helping people eat better is giving them the tools they need to put nutrition information into action. It's not enough to provide a list of guidelines; we need to give people recipes and support them in learning basic cooking skills to prepare healthier meals.

Dietitians can share information with clients on how to shop for DASH-appropriate foods on a budget, such as canned beans and fish and frozen vegetables and fruit. Any medical or health professional can give their patients and clients information on the DASH diet from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute website.

Steinberg says ongoing dietary counseling has been shown to help people stick to the DASH diet, but her research group at Duke wants to leverage technology to bring knowledge of and support for the diet to the masses.

"There aren't any apps that focus on DASH, so we're working on developing a DASH diet app that can leverage other apps that people are already using to track their diet, activity levels and more," Steinberg says.

Getting more media exposure for the DASH diet is another avenue to increase awareness. U.S. News & World Report experts rated DASH as the top diet overall for several years, adding to the diet's research credibility and helping to bring it to a wider audience.

So why does the DASH diet's following pale in comparison to other popular diets? It's time DASH got a celebrity endorsement. Or a splashy website with some dramatic before-and-after photos!

Letting go of perfection

Could positive health outcomes occur if a person didn't follow all of the DASH diet principles but still incorporated some of them?

According to Steinberg, "Every two-point increase in DASH adherence score leads to a linear reduction in blood pressure. And improvements in blood pressure are seen in just two weeks."

So this is a diet where you can do your best and see results quickly rather than worrying about following it perfectly. There is such a thing as "good enough" when it comes to healthy eating, and I counsel clients on this all the time. Is fear about having to stick to a diet holding you back from eating better today? What if your diet doesn't have to be 100 percent healthy?

Eating well is about getting your ratio of healthy eating closer to 80 percent and being happy with each improvement along the way.

Perhaps for its anniversary, the DASH diet should consider a rebranding and be renamed "the DASH lifestyle." Diets are temporary. The DASH lifestyle deserves to be here for another 20 years and beyond.

Brissette is a dietitian, foodie and president of 80TwentyNutrition.com.

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The DASH diet is proven to work. Why hasn't it caught on? - Allentown Morning Call

It has been a long winter and now that spring is finally here, I am feeling a bit more motivated to tackle that laundry list of spring cleaning to-dos Ive been avoiding.

This year, instead of just going through my closet to weed out clothes I never wear anymore (or those shirts with tags still on them that Ive sworn Id wear for the past five years) I am focusing my efforts on my kitchen.

And I am not talking about just cleaning the kitchen. In fact I would like to completely avoid ever cleaning the oven or microwave again, if possible.

Instead, I am talking about spring-cleaning my diet.

With the cold weather out of the way, I no longer have an excuse to cuddle up with my favorite comfort foods or sip on a few extra glasses of wine while watching the snowfall. Summer is right around the corner and I want to look and feel my best, and I am sure you do too.

To spring clean your diet, you dont have to give up everything you love. The opposite, actually. If you try to make too many overwhelming changes, you wont stick with them.

Its like the time I donated the majority of my shoe collection only to find myself back at the mall the next weekend hoarding as many pairs of heels I could find. Moderation is key.

Cleaning up your diet can often be more about what you need to add to your meals than what you need to avoid.

These four simple tips will help you to overhaul your nutrition easily so that you can look great, feel great, and stick with the changes you made.

Yes, transitioning away from processed food and eating only whole food is a great strategy. But lets be honest, who has time to eat only whole food 100% of the time? Not me.

Processed foods are part of our daily lives and they dont have to be unhealthy. Just because a food is processed doesnt mean it isnt nutritious.

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However, processed foods with a laundry list of ingredients including added sugars, artificial ingredients and preservatives may not be the best choice.

So look for processed foods with around ten ingredients or less to help cut down on some of those not-so-healthy elements.

It can be tempting to focus solely on the calorie content of a food when you are examining the label, but calories arent always what they seemto be: despite what you may have heard, all calories are not created equal.

A low-calorie food packed full of refined carbs and simple sugars not only will leave you hungry, it also will provide you with little to no nutrition.

Instead, a food rich in plant-based fats like nuts and seeds may seem high in calories, but the healthy fats and lean protein it provides will keep you satisfied for hours.

As tempting as it may be, avoid using calories as your sole gauge as to whether or not you should eat something, and look at the nutrients the food provides instead.

If I could only recommend one dietary change, packing more fiber into your day, would be it. Yes, I am a self-proclaimed fiber fanatic, but for a very good reason.

A diet rich in fiber doesnt just regulate the digestive system. It helps to promote fullness, cuts down on hunger and cravings, promotes a healthy body weight and even lowers future disease risk. On top of that, diets rich in fiber have even been shown to add years to your life.

Although you really cant have too much fiber, aiming for a minimum of 25 to 35 grams per day is a good place to start.

Just keep in mind, as you increase your fiber intake, to do it gradually. Eating more fiber means youll probably fart more at first, TBH.

Make sure you increase the amount of water you drink as well. Your intestines will thank you.

This is really a no-brainer. Im sure you know that too much sugar in your diet isnt ideal for health.

But did you know the extent of the negative impact added sugars can have?

Sure, they provide a source of empty calories that can lead to weight gain (especially that dreaded belly fat), but they can impact everything from energy levels to memory and concentration, too.

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One study found that high school students who drank just one soda per day had poorer performances on academic tests. Other research has shown added sugars can lower energy and cause lapses in concentration, which is not exactly something you want to happen when you are trying to secure that promotion at work.

Cut the sugar by sweetening your diet naturally by snacking on whole fruits, using flavorings like cinnamon in coffee instead of sugar, or adding a splash of 100% fruit juice to seltzer, over drinking a can of soda.

The more added sugars you cut out, the better you will feel.

And who doesnt want to feel and look great, this summer?

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4 Easy Things You Can Do To Spring Clean Your Diet And Get Healthy For Summer - Elite Daily

Diets designed to boost brain health, targeted largely at older adults, are a new, noteworthy development in the field of nutrition.

The latest version is the Canadian Brain Health Food Guide, created by scientists in Toronto. Another, the MIND diet, comes from experts at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Both diets draw from a growing body of research suggesting that certain nutrients - mostly found in plant-based foods, whole grains, beans, nuts, vegetable oils and fish - help protect cells in the brain while fighting harmful inflammation and oxidation.

Both have yielded preliminary, promising results in observational studies. The Canadian version - similar to the Mediterranean diet but adapted to Western eating habits - is associated with a 36 percent reduction in the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. The MIND diet a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) - lowered the risk of Alzheimer's by 53 percent.

Researchers responsible for both regimens will study them further in rigorous clinical trials being launched this year.

Still, the diets differ in several respects, reflecting varying interpretations of research regarding nutrition's impact on the aging brain.

A few examples: The MIND diet recommends two servings of vegetables every day; the Canadian diet recommends five. The Canadian diet suggests that fish or seafood be eaten three times a week; the MIND diet says once is enough.

The MIND diet calls for at least three servings of whole grains a day; the Canadian diet doesn't make a specific recommendation. The Canadian diet calls for four servings of fruit each day; the MIND diet says that five half-cup portions of berries a week is all that is needed.

We asked Carol Greenwood, a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto and a key force behind the Canadian diet, and Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center and originator of the MIND diet, to elaborate on research findings about nutrition and aging and their implications for older adults.

It's not yet well understood precisely how nutrition affects the brains of older adults. Most studies done to date have been in animals or younger adults.

What is clear: A poor diet can increase the risk of developing hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes, which in turn can end up compromising an individual's cognitive function. The corollary: A good diet that reduces the risk of chronic illness is beneficial to the brain.

Also, what people eat appears to have an effect on brain cells and how they function.

"I don't think we know enough yet to say that nutrients in themselves support neurogenesis (the growth of neurons) and synaptogenesis (the growth of neural connections)," Greenwood said. "But pathways that are needed for these processes can be supported or impaired by someone's nutritional status."

"Several nutrients have been shown to have biological mechanisms related to neuropathology in the brain," Morris said.

On that list is Vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant found in oils, nuts, seeds, whole grains and leafy green vegetables, which is associated with slower cognitive decline, a lower risk of dementia, and reduced accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins _ a key culprit in Alzheimer's disease.

"The brain is a site of great metabolic activity," Morris said. "It uses an enormous amount of energy and in doing so generates a high level of free radical molecules, which are unstable and destructive. Vitamin E snatches up those free radicals and protects the brain from injury."

Also on her list is vitamin B12 _ found in animal products such as meat, eggs, cheese and fish _ and vitamin B9 (folate), found in green leafy vegetables, grains, nuts and beans.

Because aging affects stomach acids that facilitate the absorption of B12, "everyone who gets to middle age should have a doctor check their B12 levels," Morris said. A deficiency of this vitamin can lead to confusion and memory problems, while folate deficiency is associated with cognitive decline and an increased risk of dementia.

Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and nuts oils, especially DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), are highly concentrated in the brain, where they are incorporated in cell membranes and play a role in the transmission of signals between cells.

"A primary focus has to be maintaining healthy" blood vessels in the brain, Greenwood said. "So, heart health recommendations are similar in many ways to brain health recommendations, with this exception: The brain has higher levels of Omega-3s than any other tissue in the body, making adequate levels even more essential."

Other studies point to calcium, zinc and vitamins A, C and D as having a positive impact on the brain, though findings are sometimes inconsistent.

Studies promoting the cognitive benefits of drinking tea or eating blueberries have garnered headlines recently. But a focus on individual foods is misguided, both experts suggested. What matters instead is dietary patterns and how components of various foods interact to promote brain health.

The bottom line: Concentrate on eating an assortment of foods that are good for you. "As long as people are eating a healthful diet, they shouldn't have to worry about individual nutrients," Greenwood said.

KHN's coverage related to aging & improving care of older adults is supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation and its coverage of aging and long-term care issues is supported by The SCAN Foundation.

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Diet can defend against Alzheimer's - Hanford Sentinel

This is how clickbait becomes a PR nightmare...when it has to do with cancer. Buzz60

'Cosmopolitan' in October 2008.(Photo: 'Cosmopolitan')

Another day, another big brand name stumbles at least according to Twitter. On Tuesday, it was Cosmopolitan magazine.

Cosmo, a magazine famous for its interest in sex,dieting and exclamation points in headlines, published one of its signature pieces Monday, a profile of a 31-year-old Australian woman and how she "lost 44 pounds without ANY exercise." You'd click on that, right?

Only it turns out, when you read about Simone Harbinson's harrowing story of weight loss, that it came after she confronted major health issues, including a rare form of cancer, removal of organs, multiple infections, a partial lung collapse and PTSD from all the stress.

The magazine posted the story and the tweet on Monday afternoon, then deleted the tweet soon after. Meanwhile, the story is still online, and with the same headline missing the crucial facts.

By Tuesday,tweeters were still ticked off, responding to the magazine's bait-and-switch with a mix of outrage and incredulityand a slew of caustic tweets, manyalong the lines of this: Cancer is not a diet plan!

So far, the magazine has not responded to the jeering tweets, and did not respond to an email request for comment from USA TODAY.

But responding can carry its own risks to a brand, especially if handled clumsily.

Last week it was Kendall Jenner and Pepsi in trouble for an insensitive ad, and United Airlines in trouble for an insensitive policy about leggings on planes. Trouble was compounded when those big-name companies responded with what critics on social media viewed as inadequate or overly legalistic explanations and apologies.

Then, on Monday, it was United again, caught in a tornado of trouble for an insensitive assault on a paying passenger who didn't want to give up his seat and got violently dragged off his plane,screaming and bloodied,in full view of all social media. United's CEO apologized again Tuesday, after his first apology didn't go over too well.

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Twitter accuses 'Cosmopolitan' of pushing 'cancer as a diet' plan - USA TODAY

Diet Cig gained some buzz in the New York indie scene over the past few years, enough to land the duo a deal with Frenchkiss for their debut LP Swear Im Good At This, and enough to sell out the back-to-back release shows at Babys All Right last Friday (4/7). They were in good spirits at the early show, excited about the Brooklyn shows and the album. Singer and guitarist Alex Luciano addressed the all ages crowd often, specifically relating to the teenagers and spoke a bit about the meanings of many of the songs before playing them. Pictures of the early show, which had Nashville Infinity Cat-signed band Daddy Issues opening, are in the gallery above.

In a move that hearkened back to the websites earlier days, Pitchfork, who gave the albums first single a favorable review, slammed Diet Cig with a 5.1 album review on that same Friday release day (4/7). Reviewer Quinn Moreland included zingers like this:

And this:

And this:

And this:

And this:

But the real gut-punch is this:

Twitter outrage ensued, including from others in the music world. Editor of indie music blog The Alternative, Emily Dubin, tweeted The diet cig pitchfork review reeks of jealousy and pompousness. Young girls need a role model like Alex. I need a role model like Alex, which Wavves retweeted. Wavves then tweeted, for wavves it doesnt matter wht pfork thinks of me. they post abt me everytime i sneeze. go ahead and pan my record ill still sell out shows and just getting wild how obviously personal the reviews are getting. im glad ppl at least can see that its more of a game than actual substance.

Punk Talks, an organization that aims to provide free mental health assistance to bands, industry professionals, and fans, tweeted, I think that @quinnmoreland wrote a juvenile and sexist piece about a defining album in an exciting time in punk music. Shame on you.

Current Rolling Stone contributor (and former SPIN/Village Voice/Parts & Labor/etc contributor) Chris Weingarten suggested, This lede is illuminating: It basically admits modern music writing & indie rock are mostly about Twitter optics.

PWR BTTM, who are friends with and have toured with Diet Cig and were at one of the Babys shows (and even joined Diet Cig on stage), and whose Big Beautiful Day video stars Alex Luciano from Diet Cig, have been liking tweets in defense of Diet Cig. One was from former Pity Sex member Britty Drake saying, Can we all agree that fuck pitchfork and love @dietcig. They also liked this one:

And in the replies to that tweet, Punk Talks said, Wow. Way to turn an incredible and defining album like @dietcigs into the cry of a whiny meninist. The Alternative said, I had to check that this was real. What a horrible review. Way to completely not get it.

Here is some more of the Twitter outrage:

Reviewer Quinn Moreland later replied to the outrage:

In reply to Quinns tweet, former Pitchfork editor (and current editor in chief of The Creative Independent) Brandon Stosuy said, your reviews on point. people would be better off listening to Ks 90s indie pop catalogue. feels more culturally relevant in 2017. Allison Crutchfield and a whole bunch of Pitchfork writers liked that one.

Pitchfork contributor Matthew Strauss backed Quinns review as well:

And Tavi Gevinson (who recently moved into a new apartment) backed Quinn with this reply:

What do you think? Either way, this much is true:

photos by Ester Segretto

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Pitchfork panned Diet Cig, Twitter outrage ensued +++ pics from Baby's - Brooklyn Vegan (blog)

The health benefits of extra-virgin olive oil are well-known, but less is known about the biological and physiological mechanisms behind these benefits. New research shows that a compound found in extra-virgin olive oil can reverse the adverse health effects of a high-fat diet.

Previous research has shown that olive oil - and especially extra-virgin olive oil - may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, not much is known about the mechanisms responsible for this association between olive oil consumption and cardiovascular health benefits.

This is why a team of researchers - led by Dr. Rodrigo Valenzuela from the University of Chile in South America - set out to investigate the effects of a compound found in extra-virgin olive oil on the health of mice.

The compound is called hydroxytyrosol and, as the scientists explain, it is a polyphenol with well-known antioxidant properties. These properties have been suspected to be the reason behind the many health benefits of olive oil.

This new research, however, shows that hydroxytyrosol also has a protective effect on the liver. The findings were published in the journal Lipids in Health and Disease.

Dr. Valenzuela and colleagues examined the effects of hydroxytyrosol on mice that were fed a diet high in fats.

Specifically, they looked at certain enzymes that play a key role in the synthesis of some polyunsaturated fatty acids. Polyunsaturated fats are beneficial to one's health because they can lower "bad" cholesterol levels, improve cardiovascular health, brain function, and cell growth.

The so-called bad cholesterol is also known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. It is referred to as the "bad" cholesterol because it is the kind of fat that can build up inside the arteries, hardening or blocking them over time and contributing to a number of cardiovascular diseases.

By contrast, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is known as the "good" cholesterol because it transports the cholesterol from other parts of the human body back to the liver, where it is processed and eliminated.

The researchers fed four groups of mice, each comprising 12 to 14 rodents, either a high-fat diet (consisting of 60 percent fat) or a control diet (with only 10 percent fat). Additionally, some mice were also administered 5 milligrams of hydroxytyrosol per kilogram of body weight over a period of 12 weeks.

Dr. Valenzuela and team took blood and tissue samples from the mice at the end of the experiment. They analyzed the effects of the diet on the composition of fatty acids, the activity of the enzymes considered, and on oxidative stress.

In the mice that had been fed a high-fat diet, both the total cholesterol levels and the levels of LDL-cholesterol increased, while the HDL cholesterol remained unchanged. However, hydroxytyrosol seemed to reduce the negative effect of these types of cholesterol in the mice that had taken it.

A high-fat diet also seemed to raise the markers of insulin resistance. Again, in the mice that had also taken hydroxytyrosol, these markers were reduced. However, they were not as low as the levels of the mice that had been on a regular diet.

Importantly, mice that had been on a high-fat diet showed decreased levels of the liver enzymes that help to synthesize the beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids. The reduction in the liver enzymes was connected with an imbalance in the fatty acids found in the liver, brain, and heart.

However, the mice whose high-fat diet was also supplemented with hydroxytyrosol showed enzymatic activity and fatty acid composition similar to that of the mice that were fed a normal diet. This suggests that hydroxytyrosol may have reversed the damaging effects of a high-fat diet.

Dr. Valenzuela explains the results:

"Our results indicate that hydroxytyrosol may be a key part of the health benefits of extra-virgin olive oil.

Mice fed on a high-fat diet had signs of nonalcoholic liver disease which we believe has led to the noticeable reduction in enzyme activity in the liver and the negative effects on fatty acid composition in this, and other, organs. We also found that the liver showed signs of increased oxidative stress, which we know has links to fatty liver disease. It is intriguing that adding a relatively low dose of hydroxytyrosol to the diet was able to reverse these effects, reduce the signs of fatty liver disease, and reduce negative effects seen in the other organs."

Learn how a recent protein discovery may offer new treatment target for fatty liver.

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Olive oil compound found to reverse the damage of high-fat diet - Medical News Today

Atkins Nutritional Holdings, the company behind the Atkins diet, agreed on Tuesday to go public and merge with Conyers Park Acquisition. The deal values the new company, called Simply Good Foods Co., at $856 million.

Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm that acquired Atkins for $301 million in late 2010, will receive $730.1 million when the deal is expected to close in June, including just less than 10.3 million shares of Simply Good Foods Co. at a value of $10 a share. The firm has a history in investing in the food industry, recently acquiring a majority stake in Jimmy John's.

The new company will be listed on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker SMPL.

Atkins, which reached mainstream popularity around a decade and a half ago when its high-protein, low-carb diet took off, now focuses on selling protein bars and other packaged nutritional cuisine. The company had previously attempted to go public at a valuation of around $1 billion in 2015, but those plans fizzled out. The company, which has now been sold five times since its founder Robert Atkins died in 2003, filed for bankruptcy in 2005 after the perception of its diet started to sour after nutritional experts criticized its focus on fatty foods and de-emphasis of fruit and vegetable consumption.

Conyers is known as a blank check company, which means it doesnt have an established business plan aside from mergers and acquisitions . Shares of Conyers were up more than 1.5% in midday trading and more than 4% for the year.

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The Company Behind the Atkins Diet Is Going Public - Fortune

Kate Hudson always has that glow. You know what we mean. The actress, author, mom of two, and apparel company Fabletics co-founder seems to always have that fresh-faced, bright-eyed look, no matter where she is or what she's doing.

So what's her secret to staying so impossibly gorgeous and healthy? Lots of pilates and dancing, she revealed in an interview with SELF. "I believe in traditional pilates because I think that our bodies need to be aligned, and what that does for your body is it makes it so strong, she said in the interview.

Exercise is only half the story, however. Hudson has dabbled with a lot of different diets, including being vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, and Paleo. What worked best for her (and gave her the best skin of her life)? Going vegan, she revealed.

Currently, she's not totally vegan, but tries to eat vegan two to three times a week. On those days, her diet consists of lots of beans, spinach, and kale. But her absolute favorite vegan meal? The meat-free Impossible Burger from Crossroads Kitchen in L.A. "Its one of the greatest things. Its so good. Its crazy how theyve been able to do that it tastes just like a regular burger," Hudson marveled.

When she's not eating vegan, Hudson cooks a lot of meatballs "My kids love meatballs" she said and makes what she calls "Nothing Chicken," a dish that's nothing more than chicken, lots of salt, and pepper. "When you salt a chicken generously and put it in the oven at 450, for 20 minutes on one side and then 20 minutes on the other, and you take it out, its perfect. You dont need anything else," she told SELF.

Whatever she's eating whether vegan or not it's clearly working.

The Feast is Bravo's home for the biggest, boldest, most crave-worthy eating experiences. Want more? Then Like us on Facebook to stay connected to our daily updates.

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Kate Hudson's Secret to Staying Fit? She Says This Diet Is the Best She's Ever Tried - Bravo (blog)

April 11, 2017

Grain-free diets are one of the largest growing segments of the pet food market. More and more pet owners are choosing these diets, which are billed as more natural and less likely to cause health problems and allergies. It all sounds greatexcept that those claims are not true.

There is no reliable evidence that suggests that it's harmful to feed grains to dogs or cats. Whole grains contain valuable dietary nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and fiber. Some grain products have protein that is easier for your pet to digest than some protein from meat. Even refined grains such as white rice can be beneficial for your pet's health, depending on the type of diet and the pet.

The vast majority of dogs and cats are very efficient at digesting and using more than 90 percent of the nutrients from grains in the amounts typically found in pet foods. While food allergies in pets are uncommon, allergies to grains are even rarer. The small number of pets that have allergies are most often allergic to animal proteins, such as chicken, beef and dairy. Gluten intolerance is also exceedingly rare in pets. Gastrointestinal symptoms caused by consuming gluten have been confirmed in just one inbred family of Irish setters.

Grain-free diets can vary widely in terms of their nutritional profiles. Some are lower in carbohydrates, which means that they can be quite high in both fat and calories. Other grain-free diets merely substitute similar amounts of highly refined starches, such as those from potatoes or tapioca (also called cassava), in place of grains. These ingredients may provide fewer nutrients and less fiber than whole grains, and foods containing them can cost more.

Other pet food companies use ingredients such as peas, beans or lentils instead of grains to provide carbohydrates, but these ingredients are not necessarily any better for your pet than grains and may cause digestive upset in some animals.

The bottom line is that "grain-free" is a marketing concept designed to sell pet food, not an evidenced-based solution for helping your pet live a long, healthy life.

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I have read that studies showed that domesticated dog's stomachs, thru several thousand years of adaption can handle grains much better that wolf's stomachs.

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Is a grain-free diet healthier for my dogs and cats? - Phys.Org