A Bengal slow loris. Credit: Stephanie Poindexter

Recent research contributes new knowledge about the feeding behavior of the elusive nocturnal primates

Release Date: January 29, 2021

BUFFALO, N.Y. They sleep during the day and forage at night. They cant jump, but theyre excellent climbers. They have huge round eyes. And unique among primates they have a venomous bite.

Meet slow lorises. These arboreal animals, found in forested regions across Southeast Asia, include several species that comprise the genus Nycticebus.

Slow lorises occupy an intriguing spot on the genetic tree of life. They belong to a suborder of primates that diverged early on from all other primates, so studying them can shed light on the evolutionary history of primates, and what makes various primates, including humans, unique.

And yet, relatively little is known about slow lorises, says Stephanie Poindexter, PhD, assistant professor of anthropology in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences. Thats one reason she decided to build her research program around the animals, using field, lab and computational techniques to understand how the critters navigate and use their habitats.

Stephanie Poindexter, assistant professor of anthropology, in Java, Indonesia, where she was measuring and studying the nightly behaviors of slow lorises in 2015. Credit: Sharon Williams

One thing thats interesting is how little we know about them relative to other primates, Poindexter says. Its not a complete black hole, but if you compare it to baboons or chimpanzees, theres just not a whole lot of information about what they get up to and why they do what they do. Theyre nocturnal its not like people have ignored them for the fun of it. Theyre hard to study.

Her team is exploring a number of questions relating to the movement, behavior and sensory system of slow lorises, and how these traits evolved. Current projects span a variety of topics, ranging from a comparative look at primate dispersal patterns to features of the nasal cavity that may impact the sense of smell in slow lorises and other primates in the same suborder (strepsirrhines). Past publications have covered topics such as where they sleep and whether they exhibit a preference for using a certain hand.

New findings: Learning to dine takes time for Javan slow lorises

In a paperpublished online on Jan. 22in the journal Animal Behaviour, researchers including Poindexter and UB PhD student Keely Maynard investigate how Javan slow lorises learn to secure food in the wild.

The species diet includes insects, liquid gums that seep out from trees, and floral nectars.

A Javanslow loris. Credit: Keely Maynard

To get the gum, the animals wrap themselves around the trunks of trees, use their teeth to gouge holes, wait a while, and return later to eat the fluids that the trees produce while healing. Obtaining nectar also requires some work, with the slow lorises climbing to the terminal branches of trees to lick flowers.

The studys conclusion: It takes time about 600 days for Javan slow lorises to develop an adult diet, which may help to explain why they stay with their mothers for so long. The project was led by Anna Nekaris, PhD, professor of anthropology at Oxford Brookes University, with Maynard as first author.

Javan slow lorises have an extended adolescence period, where the animals are adult-sized and sexually mature, but theyre remaining with their natal group, Maynard says. This extended period of development could be used to learn to forage on these difficult food items.

When theyre young, theyre feeding in proximity to adults. Theyre not just on their own, says Poindexter, Maynards PhD adviser. We think it takes time to learn how to eat certain food types. Young slow lorises show a lot of variability in their diet. And then around 600 days or so, theres less variability, and their diet starts to reflect more of an adult diet, with fewer insects. The insects are easier to get. Its grab and go.

Poindexter and Maynard conducted the research while working with Nekaris at Oxford Brookes. To obtain the data, the scientists like the slow lorises stay up at night.

Different teams go out, so the slow lorises get observed throughout the night, Poindexter says. The data we used was from a long-term dataset, so there have been many hands involved in collecting this data over many years.

Researching vulnerable and endangered species

Poindexters work has included co-authoring listings for two slow loris species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species: Nycticebus coucang, the greater slow loris, and Nycticebus hilleri, the Sumatran slow loris. Both are considered endangered.

The animals face a number of threats to their survival, including the wildlife trade and habitat loss caused by deforestation.

I went to Oxford Brookes for a master's in primate conservation, and the plan was to study captive ape welfare, but when I got there, I learned about the welfare and conservation issues slow lorises were facing, Poindexter says. At that point, I decided enough people were working on chimpanzees and that the slow lorises deserved just as much effort and attention.

Keely Maynard in Costa Rica, where she was studying the behavior of mantled howler monkeys. Maynard is a PhD student in the UB anthropology department, and her research now focuses on slow lorises.

During my masters, I also got interested in how odd the slow loris was relative to other primates. I wanted to know how and why they evolved some of the unique morphologies and behaviors I had observed.

Maynard also comments on the marvels of the slow loris, noting that, Slow lorises are fascinating. Theyre venomous, they live in family groups, they engage in social monogamy, and theyre just really interesting.

I joined Dr. Poindexters lab because her research is really aligned with my interests. Were both interested in movement ecology and habitat usage, and how slow lorises interact with their environment. I think its important to understand what roles all animals play in our ecosystems. If we lose that animal, it could have a lot of ramifications.

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Creatures of the night: UB scientists study the lives of slow lorises - UB News Center

A persons nails can say a lot about their overall health, while changes to the nails may suggest an underlying issue that needs treatment, such as nail psoriasis or Raynauds disease.

The curving of the nails does not always indicate a cause for concern, but it may be a good idea to consult a doctor. If changes to the nails accompany other symptoms, it is important to seek care promptly.

In this article, we describe types of nail curving and other nail changes that may need monitoring. We also explore some possible causes.

Some or most of the nail may curve outward, away from the nail bed. For example, a person may have one of the below conditions.

With spoon nails, the nails become so soft and curved that they can hold a droplet of water. Doctors often refer to this as koilonychia.

This issue may occur in newborns, but it may resolve without needing treatment. In other cases, and in people of other ages, koilonychia can indicate health issues, such as iron-deficiency anemia.

This involves the thickening of the tissue underneath the nail, causing the fingertips to become rounded and the nails to curve over them.

Doctors believe this results from increased blood flow to the fingertips. It can run in families and may be harmless, but it may be due to a health condition, especially if it occurs later in life.

Nails that curve far inward at the sides are called ingrown nails. This condition may affect the toenails and be due to wearing shoes that are too tight, particularly in the toe box.

Ingrown nails may also result from cutting the nails improperly. In some cases, treatment may involve removing part or all of the nail.

The nails may become crumbly or brittle due to:

Small dents and pits may also appear in the nails, which may result from:

Curving of the nails sometimes stems from an underlying health issue. This may be temporary, such as a fungal infection, or chronic, such as psoriasis. We explain some of the common causes below.

Iron helps maintain healthy cells, skin, hair, and nails, while an iron deficiency may be due to:

Some common symptoms besides curved nails may include:

Treatment for iron deficiency anemia may involve:

About 90% of people with psoriasis develop the condition on their nails at some point. Besides curving, symptoms may include thickening and shallow or deep holes in the nail.

Treatment may involve:

This rare disorder affects the arteries, causing them to periodically narrow and block blood flow to specific body parts, usually the fingers or toes.

As a result, the fingers and toes may:

Treatment for Raynauds may involve managing stress or taking medication, or rarely, undergoing surgery. However, there is no cure.

This genetic disorder causes the body to absorb too much iron from the diet. While a person typically has around 1 gram (g) of iron in their body at any time, this condition can cause a buildup of 5 grams or more.

Besides curved nails, symptoms may include:

Hemochromatosis can damage the liver, heart, and pancreas. Without treatment, people may show signs of iron toxicity in their 30s, and the disease may be fatal.

Management involves the regular removal of blood until iron levels are within a normal range.

Dietary changes may also help. Learn more here.

This chronic disease can cause trigger inflammation and pain in any area of the body. About 1.5 million people in the United States have a form of lupus, while systemic lupus erythematosus is the most common type.

Symptoms of this autoimmune disorder can flare up and recede. Beyond curvature of the nails, they can include:

Treatment generally focuses on suppressing the immune system with medications.

It may be worth speaking with a doctor about persistent, noticeable changes to the nails. It is especially crucial for a person to consult with a healthcare professional if other symptoms are present.

A doctor will identify the underlying issue and advise on the best course of treatment.

Changes to the nails, such as curving, sometimes result from an underlying health issue requiring treatment. However, these changes are not always a cause for concern.

If curving of the nails occurs with other symptoms, a person should seek medical treatment.

Continued here:
Curved nails: Causes of spoon nails and curved tips and sides - Medical News Today

The brain is the most complex organ of the body. It regulates multiple bodily functions, interprets incoming sensory information, and processes our emotions. It is also the seat of memory, intelligence, and creativity.

Although the brain gets plenty of exercise every day, certain activities may help boost brain function and connectivity. This in turn may help protect the brain from age-related degeneration.

The brain is always active, even during sleep. However, certain activities can engage the brain in new ways, potentially leading to improvements in memory, cognitive function, or creativity.

This article outlines 22 brain exercises that may help boost memory, cognition, and creativity.

Meditation generally involves focusing attention in a calm, controlled way. Meditating may have multiple benefits for both the brain and the body.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, research suggests that meditation may benefit the brain by slowing brain aging and increasing the brains ability to process information.

Visualization involves forming a mental image to represent information. The mental image may be in the form of pictures or animated scenes.

A 2018 review notes that visualization helps people organize information and make appropriate decisions.

People can practice visualization in their day-to-day lives. For example, before going shopping, people can visualize how they will get to and from the grocery store, and imagine what they will buy when they get there. The key is to imagine the scenes vividly and in as much detail as possible.

Playing card games or board games can be a fun way to socialize or pass the time. These activities may also be beneficial for the brain. A 2017 study found a link between playing games and a decreased risk of cognitive impairment in older adults.

Memory card games test a persons short-term memory and ability to remember patterns. They are a simple and fun way to engage the brain and activate areas related to pattern recognition and recall.

Crossword puzzles are a popular activity that may stimulate the brain. An older study from 2011 notes that crossword puzzles may delay the onset of memory decline in people with preclinical dementia.

Completing a jigsaw puzzle can be a good way to pass the time and may also benefit the brain. A 2018 study found that puzzles activate many cognitive functions, including:

The study concluded that doing jigsaw puzzles regularly and throughout life may protect against the effects of brain aging.

Number puzzles, such as sudoku, can be a fun way to challenge the brain. They may also improve cognitive function in some people.

A 2019 study of adults aged between 50 and 93 years found that those who practiced number puzzles more frequently tended to have better cognitive function.

A 2016 meta-analysis notes that chess and other cognitive leisure activities may lead to improvements in:

A 2015 study found that there is a connection between regular participation in checkers or other cognitively stimulating games and larger brain volume and improved markers of cognitive health in people at risk of Alzheimers disease.

A 2015 review notes that some types of video games such as action, puzzle, and strategy games may lead to improvements in the following:

Enjoying company of friends may be a mentally engaging leisure activity and may help preserve cognitive function. A 2019 study found that people with more frequent social contact were less likely to experience cognitive decline and dementia.

Some social activities that may help stimulate the brain include:

Learning new skills engages the brain in different ways and may help improve brain function.

A 2014 study of older adults found that learning a new and cognitively demanding skill, such as quilting or photography, enhanced memory function.

Increasing ones vocabulary range is a great way to broaden knowledge while exercising the brain.

A simple way to increase vocabulary is to read a book or watch a TV program and note down any words that are unfamiliar. A person can then use a dictionary to look up the meaning of the word and think up ways to use the word in a sentence.

Bilingualism refers to the ability to speak two languages.

A 2019 review notes that bilingualism increases and strengthens connectivity between different areas of the brain. The researchers propose that this enhanced connectivity may play a role in delaying the onset of Alzheimers disease and other forms of dementia.

A 2018 study published in Brain Sciences found that listening to music a person enjoys engages and connects different parts of the brain.

The researchers propose that this may lead to improvements in cognitive function and overall well-being.

Learning an instrument exercises parts of the brain that are responsible for coordination.

According to a 2014 study, playing an instrument may benefit cognitive development in a young brain and help protect against cognitive impairment in an aging brain.

Taking up a new hobby can be mentally stimulating and exercise the brain in new ways.

Hobbies that require coordination or dexterity will activate a persons motor skills. Such hobbies may include:

Regular physical exercise is beneficial for both the brain and the body. Authors of a 2019 review note that exercise improves the following aspects of brain health:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exercise has beneficial effects on the following aspects of cognitive health:

Dance is a form of exercise that may also engage areas of the brain involved in rhythm and balance.

Certain sports are both physically and mentally demanding. Some require a range of cognitive skills, such as:

A 2019 review notes that elite athletes who participate in high demand sports tend to have improved attention and faster information processing speeds.

Tai chi is a form of physical exercise that involves gentle body movements, rhythmic breathing, and meditation.

A 2019 study compared brain function and connectivity among tai chi practitioners and those who did not practice it.

The researchers found that the tai chi practitioners had enhanced connectivity between different regions of their brain. They proposed that this may improve cognition and decrease the rate of memory loss.

While not necessarily an active exercise, sleep is crucial for both the brain and the body.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night, although many people get less sleep than they need.

A 2015 review notes that sleep has been proven to:

As such, making sure to get enough sleep each night is an important step toward maintaining a healthy brain.

Brain exercises can be as simple as actively engaging the brain in everyday tasks. Others are targeted workouts for the brain, specifically designed to enhance memory, cognition, or creativity.

Exercising the brain may help improve brain function and boost connectivity between the different areas. This may help protect the brain from age-related degeneration.

People are likely to differ in terms of the brain exercises they find most enjoyable. It may be a good idea to try a range of brain-training activities at first and to stick with those that provide the most enjoyment or reward.

Read more here:
Brain exercises: 22 ways to improve memory, cognition, and creativity - Medical News Today

The high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet has skyrocketed in popularityin the past several years, with advocates claiming it can boost weight loss, energy, and overall health.

But the keto trend has gone too far, according to Dave Asprey, CEO of the health and performance company Bulletproof.

An early advocate of the keto diet, Asprey popularized what he calls Bulletproof Coffee, a blend of coffee, butter, and MCT oil that can help people on a low-carb diet stay energized and avoid cravings.

Now he says keto proponents over-emphasize cutting carbs, at the expense of other important factors in dietary health, such as food quality, eating patterns, and moderation.

"Carbs matter,"he told Insider."People like to simplify now we have the keto trap."

While keto can be a useful tool, Asprey said it's best to still include some carbs in your diet, focus on eating high-quality, nutrient-dense foods. He also makes a case that other diets offer health benefits without the side effects of keto such as intermittent fasting, Asprey argues in his new book "Fast This Way."

As an advocate for the low-carb diet in the early 2000s, Asprey personally experienced the enthusiasm for keto that currently runs rampant in popular diet culture.

"I can take some responsibility for that. I went through a phase where I was too keto," Asprey said.

He initially lost 50 pounds in three months on a keto diet, which felt "like magic" after trying and failing to lose weight by other methods.

Read more: A nutrition journalist dieted his whole life and still gained weight. Then he tried the keto diet, and 'it was like a switch being flipped.'

However, while there is evidencethat keto can be effective in some contexts, such as treating diabetes. studies are still mixed on whether keto is really best for weight loss.

Asprey has become somewhat disillusioned with low-carb diets.

Asprey said the main problem with the modern keto diet (and its precursor, the Atkins diet) is that it focuses too much onfat versus carbs.

That means low-carb diets can rely on plenty of foods that we know aren't healthy, included highly-processed meats, cheeses, and snacks, and even some fast food. In this school of thought, known as "dirty keto," any food is allowed as long as it's low in carbs.Asprey said that while it can work for weight loss in the short-term, it's risky for long-term health.

"The idea becomes that it's if its not sugar or carbs, it's OK to eat and that's not true. Don't be keto with pork rinds and cream cheese," Asprey said.

Asprey isn't the only one concerned with keto's popularity.

Low-carb diets are routinely critiques bydietitians, who caution that it relies too heavily on saturated fat, which is linked to increased risk of cardiovascular illness. Experts also warn that avoiding carbs can limit your intake of importantplant-based nutrients, including dietary fiber.

For a healthy keto diet, Asprey recommends sticking to high-quality fats such as avocado oil and butter from grass-fed cows, balanced with good protein sources such as fatty fish, eggs, and grass-fed meats.

Then, don't neglect your vegetables, even on a keto diet broccoli, zucchini, cabbage, avocado, and celery are low-carb and very nutrient-dense.

But your eating patterns arealmost as important as what you eat, according to Asprey.

Many of the benefits of a keto diet are linked to ketosis, the metabolic state where your body burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.

Ketosis can sometimes have side effects, however, such as raising your level of cortisol, the stress hormone. That's particularly true for longer periods of fasting or very-low-carb dietswithout enough time to adapt.

"If you force it, if you do fasting wrong, it can break you. The stress response can break your endocrine system," Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, a professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine who has published several studies on keto and diabetes, previously told Insider.

That's why Asprey advocates using it sparingly, and fasting only intermittently, to avoid inadvertent risks from dietary extremes.

"Carbs matter. People are missing out. Moderation and cycling are important, and that's what we've lost," he said.

See the original post here:
An early keto advocate says the diet has gone 'too far' and we need to stop demonizing carbs - Insider - INSIDER

We are coming up on one year since the pandemic changed our lives. A year is a long time and can especially feel longer during the winter months. Do you find yourself dragging through the day, grabbing an energy drink, soda or extra cup of coffee?

Whether you suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or if the winter months, coupled with the pandemic, are wearing you down, take a look at your food choices. Are you ready for a change? I know I am! Healthy nutrition can impact how you feel, and here is how.

First, aim to include a variety of foods and food groups each day to your menu plan. Choose more complex carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates include beans, lentils, 100% whole grain products and starchy vegetables such as sweet potato, winter squash and potatoes.

You will see several of these listed again because they are that important. Yes, these carbohydrates are good for you. By choosing complex carbohydrates over refined carbohydrates, you are fueling your body with vitamins, minerals and fiber. Lets take a closer look at some important vitamins that provide long-lasting benefits and may boost your winter well-being.

Vitamin B6 is a vitamin found in many plant-based and animal products. Vitamin B6 is important for brain development and helps keep the nervous system and immune system healthy. Good sources of Vitamin B6 include chicken, tuna, salmon, liver, dairy, beans, spinach, carrots, oats, bananas, whole grain flour, bran and brown rice.

Serotonin is a chemical released by the nervous system and has been found to help mood, calm nerves and promote relaxation. To increase our bodys serotonin, we need folic acid. Folic acid is another important B vitamin that can be found in dark, green, leafy vegetables and plants, beets, eggs, citrus fruits, nuts, seeds and lentils.

Vitamin D has many important functions, such as reducing inflammation and supporting immune function. Over time, inflammation can increase risk for chronic diseases. This time of year, many of us northern Minnesotans are unable to get enough natural Vitamin D from sunshine.

Other natural forms of Vitamin D can be found in fish such as salmon and canned tuna, egg yolk and mushrooms. Many foods are fortified with Vitamin D and offer the same benefits as natural Vitamin D. Foods that are commonly fortified with Vitamin D include, milk, orange juice, cereal and oatmeal.

Lastly, foods rich in antioxidants such as beta-carotene, Vitamin C and Vitamin E can support healthy immune function, especially important during the cold and flu season. Good sources of beta carotene, which is converted to Vitamin A, include spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and cantaloupe. Good sources of Vitamin C are well known and include citrus fruits, broccoli, peppers, strawberries and tomatoes. Vitamin E can be enjoyed in nuts and seeds, beans, wheat germ and margarine.

All this sounds good on paper, but how are you going to include these foods into your meals? Plan ahead for both meals and snacks and think about combining the foods above to create a more nutrient-rich meal. Suggest a meal swap with a neighbor a couple times a month. This is a great way to try something different and share your favorite meal as well.

Lastly, consider checking out a cookbook from the library. As you can see, many of the foods above offer a variety of nutrients, so it may be easier than you think to enjoy a wholesome, energy-boosting, COVID-kicking meal plan.

Tammy Licari, RD, CDCES, LD, CD, is a St. Lukes Clinical Dietitian.

Excerpt from:
Nutrition: Diversify your diet to beat the winter blues - Duluth News Tribune

The keto diet has long been touted as one of the best ways to lose fat, and while that may be true, a new study shows that there may be even better ways to shed pounds and cut your consumption. Research published in Nature Medicine examined both the keto diet and a plant-based, low-fat diet to see which is more effective, and the results might just surprise you.

The study was led by a scientist at the National Institutes of Health named Kevin Hall. Hall took a group of 20 people and put half on a keto diet, which is a low-carb, high-fat diet, and he put half of the people on a high-carb, low-fat, plant-based diet. They all stuck with their designated diet for two weeks and then switched to the other one. This way, Hall was able to get the results of every subject for both diets to truly see which worked better for consumption, insulin levels, and fat loss overall.

RELATED: 15 Underrated Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work

At the end of the study, Hall found that those on the low-fat diet had a larger cut in consumption: By about 700 calories per day, on average. On keto, the drop was closer to 300 calories a day. Hall also noted that the low-fat diet led to a little bit more fat loss than keto, but it was minimal. However, the study was only for a short period of time, so it's a bit unclear how much more fat could have been lost during a longer period of time.

Hall primarily wanted to look at the insulin levels of the subjects, which he shared with The Washington Post. As The Post pointed out, your body processes carbs with insulin, and when you cut carbs, as you do on the keto diet, it affects your body's insulin level. In this study, Hall found that while the low-fat diet did cut down on consumption, he told The Post, the subjects' insulin levels were "through the roof." (Related: Is the Keto Diet Safe? The Real Risks and Rewards of Going Ultra-Low Carb)

Every diet will work differently for every body, and if you're looking to make a lifestyle change to lose fat or trim some inches, your best bet is to work with your healthcare provider to figure out what will work best for you. While a keto diet is effective in helping people lose weight, it may not be the best choice for you, and it's certainly not a long-term diet. Thanks to this study, we now know a low-fat diet can be just as effective, if not more so, in helping you lose fat.

As always, studies are constantly being done on all these diets, and scientists and researchers are learning more and more about them every day. For more health news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter.

Continued here:
This Diet Is More Effective Than Keto for Fat Loss, New Study Finds | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

A sustainable way of life

The Mediterranean diet is perennially at the top of U.S. News & World Report's Best Diets list, again topping the list in 2021. It's nearly-universally endorsed by nutritionists and dietitians because it emphasizes wholesome foods, including whole grains, lean proteins, heart-healthy fats and plenty of fruits and vegetables.

So many experts back this diet because it's more a lifestyle than most diets, which are often restrictive and difficult to sustain. The best diet is the one that you can make into a lifelong habit and, as such, millions of people who hail from the Mediterranean region have long shown that this approach to food and life is healthy, sustainable and delicious.

Growing demand and popularity

It's also a diet that's growing in popularity around the world, as evidenced by the growing demand for recipes that fit the protocol, says Jack Bishop, chief creative officer at America's Test Kitchen in Brookline, Massachusetts.

ATK's 2016 book, "The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook," has been the company's most popular book over the last five years. "The interesting thing about the Mediterranean book is that each year, it has sold better than the previous year," a real rarity in the book publishing world.

"Usually your first year is your best year," Bishop notes, but this thick volume's popularity has only increased with each passing year. "This just tells me that the appetite for the diet continues to grow," he says.

Nutritious, healthy, delicious food

One of the reasons why this diet is attracting so much attention lately is because the barrier to entry is relatively low. "The Mediterranean diet is accessible. It's easy to start, and it's not that complicated. There's not a lot of math involved," Bishop says, referencing other diets that require followers to track calories or precise ratios of macronutrients. You don't have to do that with the Mediterranean diet.

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What's more, this lifestyle is "grounded in culture," meaning it's been time tested and works for lots of people, Bishop says.

A diverse and abundant diet that pulls from a variety of cuisines around the Mediterranean Sea -- from Greek and Italian to Egyptian and Spanish fares -- the Mediterranean diet is known for offering "big, bold flavors," Bishop says. It also places an emphasis on spices, herbs and olive oil. "Those are all high-impact ingredients that deliver a lot of flavor."

All-in-all, the Mediterranean diet is satisfying in ways that many diets -- which can very quickly become monotonous -- simply aren't. This makes it sustainable for the long haul and a good choice for anyone wanting to improve their overall health and wellness, and particularly for those looking to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease.

A day's worth of Mediterranean food

If you're new to following the Mediterranean diet and want to get your bearings in this way of eating, you may be wondering where to start. In the following slides, America's Test Kitchen shares a day's worth of meals that adhere to the principles of the diet.

Breakfast: shakshuka

Why this recipe works:

Shakshuka is a Tunisian dish featuring eggs poached in a spiced tomato, onion and pepper sauce. The key to great shakshuka is balancing the piquancy, acidity, richness and sweetness of its ingredients, according to the chefs at ATK.

Choosing the right pepper to star in this dish makes all the difference. Piquillo peppers were a favorite for the Test Kitchen team, boasting spicy-sweet and vibrant flavors. These small red peppers from Spain, sold in jars or cans, have a subtle hint of smokiness from being roasted over a wood fire. Jarred roasted red peppers can be substituted for the piquillo peppers. You'll need a 12-inch nonstick skillet with a tight-fitting lid for this recipe. Serve with pitas or crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Serves: 4.

Ingredients:

-- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.

-- 2 onions, chopped fine.

-- 2 yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded and cut into -inch pieces.

-- 4 garlic cloves, minced.

-- 2 teaspoons tomato paste.

-- Salt and pepper.

-- 1 teaspoon ground cumin.

-- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric.

-- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

-- 1 cups jarred piquillo peppers, chopped coarse.

-- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes.

-- cup water.

-- 2 bay leaves.

-- 1/3

-- cup chopped fresh cilantro.

-- 4 large eggs.

-- 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled ( cup).

1. Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onions and bell peppers and cook until softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato paste, 1 teaspoons salt, cumin, turmeric, teaspoon pepper and cayenne. Cook, stirring frequently, until tomato paste begins to darken, about 3 minutes.

2. Stir in piquillo peppers, tomatoes and their juice, water and bay leaves. Bring to simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Off heat, discard bay leaves and stir in cup cilantro. Transfer 2 cups sauce to blender and process until smooth, about 60 seconds. Return puree to skillet and bring sauce to simmer over medium-low heat.

4. Off heat, make four shallow indentations (about 2 inches wide) in surface of sauce using back of spoon. Crack one egg into each indentation and season eggs with salt and pepper. Cover and cook over medium-low heat until egg whites are just set and yolks are still runny, 4 to 6 minutes. Sprinkle with feta and remaining cilantro and serve immediately.

Lunch: Mediterranean chopped salad

Why this recipe works:

The appeal of a chopped salad is that all the ingredients are cut to a uniform size and tossed together, permitting a taste of everything in each bite. Virtually any ingredients may be used, yet most chopped salads are uninspired, laden with deli meats and cheeses and drowned in dressing. With a world of options, the team at ATK steered the salad in a Mediterranean direction, starting with escarole.

A member of the chicory family, this underutilized leafy green is loaded with vitamins and has a mild bitterness that pairs well with bold flavors. Next they added chopped cucumbers and grape tomatoes, salting them to remove excess moisture, and red onion. To make the salad hearty, instead of deli meat the ATK team incorporated nutty chickpeas. Kalamata olives added richness and walnuts brought crunch and healthy fats. Everything is tossed with a simple red wine vinaigrette to let the salad's flavors shine through. Finally, not wanting to completely eliminate cheese from the salad, they sprinkled on 1/2 cup of briny feta to round out the flavors. Cherry tomatoes can be substituted for the grape tomatoes.

Serves: 6.

Ingredients:

-- 1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into -inch pieces.

-- 10 ounces grape tomatoes, quartered.

-- 1 teaspoon table salt.

-- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar.

-- 1 garlic clove, minced.

-- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.

-- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed.

-- cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped.

-- small red onion, chopped fine.

-- cup chopped fresh parsley.

-- 1 head escarole (1 pound), trimmed and cut into -inch pieces.

-- 2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled ( cup).

-- cup walnuts, toasted and chopped.

1. Toss cucumber and tomatoes with salt and let drain in colander for 15 minutes.

2. Whisk vinegar and garlic together in large bowl. Whisking constantly, drizzle in oil. Add drained cucumber-tomato mixture, chickpeas, olives, onion and parsley and toss to coat. Let sit for at least 5 minutes or up to 20 minutes.

3. Add escarole, feta and walnuts and toss gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

Snack: marinated artichokes

Why this recipe works:

Marinated artichokes have so many uses that they should be considered a pantry staple; they're perfect for everything from throwing on pizzas, to tossing into a salad or pasta, to eating on an antipasto platter. But store-bought versions tend to be mushy and bland -- and expensive.

To get the best tender-yet-meaty texture and sweet, nutty artichoke flavor, the Test Kitchen team started with fresh baby artichokes. They simmered them gently in olive oil with strips of lemon zest, garlic, red pepper flakes and thyme, then let them sit off the heat until they were perfectly fork-tender and infused with the aromatic flavors. Then they stirred in fresh lemon juice and more zest, minced garlic and mint before transferring the artichokes to a bowl and topping them with the infused oil for serving and storage.

Serves: 6 to 8.

Ingredients:

-- 2 lemons.

-- 2 cups extra-virgin olive oil.

-- 3 pounds baby artichokes (2 to 4 ounces each).

-- 8 garlic cloves, peeled; 6 cloves smashed, 2 cloves minced.

-- teaspoon red pepper flakes.

-- 2 sprigs fresh thyme.

-- Salt and pepper.

-- 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint.

1. Using vegetable peeler, remove three 2-inch strips zest from one lemon. Grate teaspoon zest from second lemon and set aside. Halve and juice lemons to yield cup juice, reserving spent lemon halves.

2. Combine oil and lemon zest strips in large saucepan. Working with one artichoke at a time, cut top quarter off each artichoke, snap off outer leaves and trim away dark parts. Peel and trim stem, then cut artichoke in half lengthwise (quarter artichoke if large). Rub each artichoke half with spent lemon half and place in saucepan.

3. Add smashed garlic, pepper flakes, thyme sprigs, 1 teaspoon salt and teaspoon pepper to saucepan and bring to rapid simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally to submerge all artichokes, until artichokes can be pierced with fork but are still firm, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let sit until artichokes are fork-tender and fully cooked, about 20 minutes.

4. Gently stir in teaspoon reserved grated lemon zest, cup reserved lemon juice and minced garlic. Transfer artichokes and oil to serving bowl and let cool to room temperature. Season with salt to taste and sprinkle with mint. Serve. (Artichokes and oil can be refrigerated for up to four days.)

Dinner: pasta e fagioli with orange and fennel

Why this recipe works:

Though the precise ingredients for Italy's famed pasta e fagioli vary from region to region, too many recipes have one thing in common: They turn out bland and mushy and take hours to prepare. For this ATK recipe, they wanted to find a silver bullet: a satisfying soup boasting great flavor and proper texture that didn't take all afternoon to make.

The chefs at ATK established an Italian flavor profile with the help of some fennel seeds, orange zest, dried oregano, red pepper flakes and plenty of garlic. Minced anchovy fillets contributed a complex, meaty character void of any fishy aftertaste. Turning to canned diced tomatoes (instead of fresh) and sweet, creamy canned cannellini beans (instead of dried) cut hours out of prep time, and using the tomatoes to deglaze the aromatic base intensified the flavor of the soup.

For pasta, the ATK team looked to small shapes like ditalini, tubettini or, their top choice, orzo to complement rather than crowd out the other ingredients. Finally, parsley lent the necessary bright note to finish our soup. The Parmesan rind can be replaced with a 2-inch chunk of cheese. You can substitute ditalini or tubettini for the orzo (the cooking times may vary slightly).

Serves: 8 to 10.

Ingredients:

-- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving.

-- 3 ounces pancetta, chopped fine.

-- 1 onion, chopped fine.

-- 1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded, bulb halved, cored and chopped fine.

-- 1 celery rib, minced.

-- 4 garlic cloves, minced.

-- 3 anchovy fillets, rinsed and minced.

-- 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried.

-- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest.

-- teaspoon fennel seeds.

-- teaspoon red pepper flakes.

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A Day's Worth of Meals on the Mediterranean Diet - Yahoo News

Choosing to go on a diet isn't a 100% healthy endeavor. After all, if you're cutting yourself off from certain nutritious foods or entire food groups, drastically limiting your calorie intake overall, fasting for prolonged periods of time, or signing up for a fad-like program that promises extreme results in short order, there's a good chance you're actually embarking on a path that your body may not actually respond favorably to. Whether you're trying the Ketogenic diet or intermittent fasting, going low carb or low fat, below are some common side effects of going on a super-strict dieting regimen you should be aware of. And for more healthy weight loss tips, don't miss this list of Sneaky Weight Loss Tricks That Totally Work, According to Experts.

If you're considering intermittent fasting, in which you restrict your food consumption for long stretches on certain days of the week, you'd be wise to consider some of the consequences. "Depending on the length of the fasting period," write the health experts at Harvard Medical School, "people may experience headaches, lethargy, crankiness, and constipation. To decrease some of these unwanted side effects, you may want to switch from alternate-day fasting to periodic fasting or a time-restricted eating plan that allows you to eat every day within a certain time period."

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A simple fact: If you eat less food (also known as fuel), your body will have less energy to burn and you'll ultimately feel sluggish. One study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that cutting carbohydrates from your diet was associated with a greater risk of fatigue. Another study, which focused entirely on the Ketogenic diet and was published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, found that "low-carbohydrate diets enhance fatigability and can reduce the desire to exercises in free-living individuals."

Cutting carbs completely from your diet isn't your only path to lower energy levels. Other studies have linked diets that restrict nutrients such as vitamin B12, folate, and iron with fatigue, as well as anemia. For more weight loss tips, make sure you're aware of the 12 Foods That Drive the Most Weight Loss of All, Say Experts.

A now-famous study published in the journal Obesity that analyzed the weight-loss efforts of contestants of NBC's wildly popular series The Biggest Loser, which was conducted by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, found that people who go on an extreme crash diet hobbled their metabolisms so profoundly that they never fully recovered. The chief reason, according to the researchers, was the influence of leptin, the body's hormone that tells you you're satiated, or no longer hungry. Over the course of the crash diet, the contestants' leptin levels essentially flatlined. The researchers also tracked their ghrelin levelsthe hormone that tells you when you're hungryand it had actually risen. In effect, the dieters had reprogrammed their bodies to be fat-storing, low-energy machines.

According to a study published in the journal Dermatology Practical & Conceptual, embarking on a low-calorie diet is associated with hair loss, as the lack of nutrients disrupts your hair follicles to function as intended. "Nutritional deficiency may impact both hair structure and hair growth," write the researchers. "Effects on hair growth include acute telogen effluvium (TE), a well-known effect of sudden weight loss or decreased protein intake, as well as the diffuse alopecia seen in niacin deficiency."

For a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers from the University of Kiel in Germany took 32 non-obese males and slashed their calories by an average of 1,300 for a three-week period. On the whole, the subjects emerged from the experience having gained weight while seeing a dramatic decrease in muscle massroughly 5% across the board.

RELATED: 15 Underrated Weight Loss Tips That Actually Work

"A lack of proper nutrition due to a fad diet can actually strain your organs and muscles," says Ashlee Van Buskirk, a nurse, health and wellness coach with a BS in Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Studies, and the founder of Whole Intent. "For instance, a high-protein diet can actually lead to dehydration, which may place a significant strain on your kidneys as you may be more prone to developing kidney stones."

"Most diets fail most of the time [and] repeated diet failure is a negative predictor for successful long term weight loss," writes Anna Guerdjikova, Ph.D., LISW, CCRC, director of administrative services at the Harold C. Schott Foundation Eating Disorders Program at the University of Cincinnati. "Chronic dieters consistently report guilt and self-blame, irritability, anxiety and depression, difficulty concentrating and fatigue. Their self-esteem is decreased by continuous feelings of failure related to 'messing my diet up again,' leading to feelings of lack of control over one's food choices and further life in general. Dieting can be particularly problematic in adolescents."

RELATED: This Diet Mistake Can Make Your Depression Worse, Science Says

"Fad diets are not always terrible, but people should understand the food groups and should try to ingest foods from all of them to keep vitamin and mineral balance," says Stephen Newhart, Ph.D., owner of Vigor Active. "Grains provide energy, fiber, iron, and help with constipation, dairy provides calcium and iron, fruits and vegetables provide vitamins and minerals and protein supports muscle mass. Always try and eat something from all the food groups to sustain health, just be sure to eliminate the sugars."

If you're older and you're trying intermittent fasting, you could be at risk of losing too much weight. "If you're already marginal as far as body weight goes, I'd be concerned that you'd lose too much weight, which can affect your bones, overall immune system, and energy level," Kathy McManus, RD, director of the Department of Nutrition at Brigham and Women's Hospital, told Harvard Medical School.

According to the International Journal of Eating Disorders, 35% of "normal dieters" may become pathological dieters, and 20 to 25% of those are prone to develop an eating disorder. "The onset of eating disorders has commonly been associated with following restrictive diets, as they become a way for individuals to exercise control, counting calories and fat grams, limiting types and amounts of food, and obsessing about a number on the scale," write the experts at Behavioral Nutrition.

As the Cleveland Clinic notes, many health experts believe that "80 to 95% of dieters gain weight back that they've worked so hard to lose." If that's an experience you're aware of, don't miss these tips for Losing Weight and Keeping it Off for Good.

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Dangerous Side Effects of Going on a Diet, According to Science | Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

President Joe Biden, with no Diet Coke button to be found.

The saga of former President Donald Trump's reported Diet Coke button has a new twist.Politico reported Monday that the button, which sat on the Resolute Desk, and which reporters had said Trump used to summon Diet Coke, is actually just an usher call button. What's more, President Joe Biden hasn't gotten rid of it.

Citing a White House official, Politico said the button is still on Biden's desk, but couldn't say what the president will use it for.

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Talk of the supposed Diet Coke button kicked off last week when Times Radio Chief Political Commentator Tom Newton Dunnposted contrasting photos of Trump and Bidenin the Oval, and noted that the wooden box which was reportedly the Diet Coke button, no longer sat on the desk next to the telephones.

According to a 2018reportfrom the Associated Press, whenever Trump pushed it, "a White House butler walked in with a single glass of Diet Coke on a silver tray for the commander in chief," the AP's Julie Pace said, having watched the button deployed.

The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Biden reportedly keeping desk button Trump used to summon Diet Coke - CNET

Old stories tell us about the tradition of giving lactating mothers the best meals in the house so they would make the best milk for the baby. The freshest vegetables and fruits, the best cuts of meat, bread just baked, were reserved for the lactating mother because her nutrition was anecdotally connected to the quality of the milk she produced, and mothers milk was believed to be the best nutrition a baby could receive.

Years later, research has shown, confirming what tradition claimed, that human milk is the optimal nutrition source for neonates and infants, and in this study researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have uncovered a mechanism by which nutrition can modulate the beneficial composition of the mothers milk.

Mothers milk confers protection against both immediately life-threatening infant diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis, as well as later onset diseases in adults, like obesity, diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease, said Dr. Kjersti Aagaard, Henry and Emma Meyer Chair in Obstetrics and Gynecology and professor of molecular and human genetics at Baylor and Texas Childrens Hospital. Scientific evidence suggests that what a mother eats while she is breastfeeding can modulate the beneficial composition of the mothers milk, but the underlying mechanisms involved have not been elucidated.

In previous work in both humans and primates, Aagaard and her colleagues found that what a pregnant woman eats during pregnancy can affect her childs lifelong metabolic health. In the current study they investigated the effect of the diet of a breastfeeding mother on the composition of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs).

Feeding the microbiomeThis was particularly exciting, since HMOs are basically inert substances to a mother or her baby. However, they exert their health benefits by acting as food or fodder to microbes both bacteria and some viruses. This appears to be a very interesting example where what we eat affects our microbes via an intermediate (the HMOs), which we make but dont directly benefit from. It gives us a fascinating glimpse into what we and others believe is a natural co-evolution process, Aagaard said.

These insights are important because it has been proposed that the establishment of a healthy microbiome in the newborn and infant influences lifelong metabolic health.

To determine how diet can affect the mothers HMOs, the researchers worked with Dr. Morey Haymond, professor of pediatrics-nutrition at Baylor. The team supplied breastfeeding mothers with all their meals in a controlled setting at the USDA Childrens Nutrition Research Center. The mothers consumed a particular diet for 30 to 70 hours. After a two-week washout period, the same woman ate a different diet also provided by the researchers.

The researchers carefully collected milk samples from each subject at these different time points including the diet switches. In this way, each woman could serve as her own control, something referred to as a cross-over trial design. This helped the researchers to control for the possibility of how individual women may vary one to the next in the amount of HMOs made, as well as the possibility of confusing microbes in the milk with environmental contaminants. The team analyzed the HMO and microbiome composition of the milk and gleaned clues as to the effect of the mothers diet.

We found that distinct maternal carbohydrate and energy sources in the diets we provided preferentially altered the milk concentrations of HMOs, and this was accompanied by changes in the metabolic capacity of the milk microbiome, said first author Dr. Maxim Seferovic, instructor of obstetrics and gynecology at Baylor working in the Aagaard lab. It is not that the maternal diet itself is directly affecting the microbes, but that the diet affects the microbes food, the HMOs, which in turn shape the functional capacity of the community of microbes in the milk that will be consumed by the baby. Interestingly, the changes in HMO occurred quickly, in a matter of 2 to 3 days, after the mothers changed their diet.

Potential effects for both the baby and the lactating motherThe researchers propose that the findings can have implications not only for the baby but also for the mother.

We propose that our findings can have potential effects on babys health and development, including the potential for promoting healthy gut integrity at the mucosal surface. HMOs feed certain microbial communities, and it has been suggested that the establishment of those microbial communities is probably important for neonatal development of brain function, said co-author Dr. Melinda Engevik, postdoctoral fellow in pathology and immunology at Baylor.

We speculate that having certain HMOs promotes the growth of certain microbes in the milk, which then pass to the baby and may promote healthy development.

One other exciting aspect of our study is the suggestion that HMOs seem to preferentially affect the growth potential of microbes that may also impart health risk or benefit for the mother. For instance, by shaping the community of microbes in the milk in ways that may favor the growth of certain beneficial microbes via the simultaneous exclusion of those that cause mastitis during breastfeeding, Aagaard said.

If not treated with antibiotics, mastitis, or the painful inflammation of breast tissue that typically involves an infection, prevents breastfeeding and can become a serious condition.

HMOs also can potentially prompt a healthy microbiome in other ways. For example, by feeding the good microbes, acting as a decoy that attracts and sequesters potentially dangerous microbes and by breaking down and producing nutrients that may benefit other microbes.

Find all the details of this work in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

Other contributors to this work include Mahmoud Mohammad, Ryan Pace, James Versalovic and Lars Bode. The authors are affiliated with one or more of the following institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Childrens Hospital, University of California San Diego and National Research Centre, Cairo.

Find the complete list of financial sources for this work in the publication.

By Ana Mara Rodrguez, Ph.D.

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Connecting the dots between lactating mother's diet, milk composition, microbiome and benefits of mother's milk - Baylor College of Medicine News