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Eat well to stay well: How to lead a healthy life in lockdown – The Independent

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:54 am

Keeping our bodies fit and healthy should be a priority for us all at the best of times, but in the midst of a global pandemic these things could be lifesaving.

Alongside doing plenty of exercise, taking time out to look after our mental health and ensuring we continue to visit the GP, something as simple as adopting a healthy, well-balanced diet can be a vital step towards ensuring our bodies are as well equipped to fight off infection as possible.

We know all too well that our age and any underlying health issues such as diabetes, asthma or heart disease can contribute to how well our bodies are able to fight off the coronavirus. But statistics also show that those who are overweight are more likely to suffer the serious and potentially devastating symptoms of Covid-19 than those with a healthy BMI.

With our collective motivation feeling like it has hit an all-time nadir, the thought of laying low, abandoning our daily exercise and self-medicating with junk food is all too tempting.

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Many of us put on weight during the first lockdown, as the novelty of going for daily jogs and joining in Zoom exercise classes quickly wore off. As we continue into the cold and wet of winter, moving anywhere outside of the comfort of our beds or sofa becomes even more of a mental struggle.

But losing weight doesnt have to be a miserable slog and eating a healthy diet doesnt need to mean grains and lettuce leaves it can be truly delicious.

So how can we ensure we maintain a healthy, balanced diet while lockdowns and tier systems keep us cooped up inside?

Know what healthy looks like

We are all familiar with the advice that we are supposed to eat five helpings of fruit and veg every day for a healthy diet, but what does this actually look like? Are carbohydrates really a no-no? And is all fat bad?

When it comes to our food intake, the NHS has put together an Eat Well Guide designed to help us make healthier choices when it comes to our food. The guide uses helpful illustrations to show us what types of food and drink we should be having each day and how to strike a healthy balance. And carbohydrates and fat are by no means banned.

Try to choose a variety of different food from each of the groups to help you get the wide range of nutrients your body needs to stay healthy, recommends the NHS.

Dieting doesnt have to mean saying sayonara to all your favourite foods. The Easy Meals app compiles over 150 delicious, easy and healthy recipes for you to peruse at your leisure. You can search by mealtime depending on whether youre after a quick lunchtime snack or a heartier evening meal and it helps you to compile shopping lists for when youre next heading to the supermarket.

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Knowing what to look out for when youre reading food labels at the supermarket can also really help us make better choices. Check out the NHS food labels guide for more information.

Dieting doesnt have to mean missing out on the foods you love completely - just make sure you have everything in moderation. Reducing the unhealthy part of our diets and changing our habits is a key first step to living a healthier life.

The Drink Free Days app can help you track your drinking, encourage you to skip alcohol days and get practical support if your alcohol intake has gone from an occasional treat to a concerning crutch.

A tailor-made regime

On average, women should aim to consume around 2,000 calories a day and men, 2,500 but according to the NHS, most of us are consuming more than we need.

Your Body Mass Index (BMI) is the best way of knowing if you need to lose weight. This is a measurement that uses your height and weight to determine if you are a healthy weight. For most adults, an ideal BMI is between 18.5 to 24.9. To calculate your BMI you can use the NHS tool here.

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Fad diets can be dangerous and stressful but developing healthy habits and losing weight in a safe way doesnt have to be a slog.

The NHS free weight loss app will enable you to record your calories and progress and gives tips and advice on healthy, sustainable weight loss.

Finding ways of reducing your intake of unhealthy snacks or substituting your favourite treats with easy alternatives makes you feel as though youre not missing out.

Plan your meals

We all know the process: we kick off Monday with all the best intentions in the world, but after a barrage of emails, back-to-back meetings and the to-do list piling up, that quinoa salad wed planned for lunch suddenly feels uninspiring and too time-consuming to make. We reach for whatever we can find in the cupboard or make a hasty takeaway order. By the end of the week any modicum of healthiness has completely disintegrated.

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Enter meal planning. Something as simple as knowing what youre going to eat for lunch is half the battle. Whether it be through bulk cooking or signing up to a healthy meal-delivery box, getting into a regular routine is the easiest way to kick-start a new eating plan and makes a healthy diet all the more appealing. The NHS meal planner in the Easy Meals app is a good place to start.

Drinking lots of water can also help. The government recommends drinking between six and eight glasses of water every day and more in hot weather or while exercising, to prevent dehydration.

Make sure to line up some rewards for yourself at the end of a successful week.

Get active

Of course, another great way to improve our mental and physical health is to get moving.

Exercise can reduce your risk of major illnesses from heart disease to stroke, type 2 diabetes. Just two and a half hours of activity each week (or 30 minutes every day) is all we need for our bodies to feel the benefit.

Keep fit by picking up free or discounted classes - gloating Instagram posts optional

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For it to be beneficial, the NHS says, you need to be moving quick enough to raise your heart rate, breathe faster and feel warmer.

It doesnt have to be a high intensity cardio work out (though the popularity of Joe Wicks HIIT classes is a glowing endorsement of how enjoyable this can be). The Active 10 walking app can help you get started by adding regular bursts of brisk walking to your daily routine, tracking your movement and helping you reach achievable milestones.

Remember all your friends and family using the Couch to 5k running app during the summer? Why not join them, it really is as easy as it looks to follow.

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Eat well to stay well: How to lead a healthy life in lockdown - The Independent

TikTok investigating videos promoting starvation and anorexia – The Guardian

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:54 am

TikTok has launched an investigation and banned some search terms after the Guardian found harmful pro-anorexia content was still easily searchable despite measures taken by the social media company to prohibit the advertising of weight-loss products.

The video app one of the most popular in the world with more than 800 million users, almost half of whom are between the ages of 16 and 24 has imposed new restrictions on weight-loss ads after criticism for promoting dangerous diets.

But harmful accounts that promote potentially life-threatening eating disorders were still easy to find. While the company had blocked some hashtags, putting the same words into a search for profiles brought up dozens of accounts promoting eating disorders.

Those searching for content via hashtags can also get around restrictions by using slight misspellings or variants on common terms.

After being presented with the findings, TikTok launched an investigation and said it had taken action to ban harmful phrases across all search verticals, including when searching for users.

One account showed messages from a girl saying she wanted tips on losing a lot of weight, in a healthy or unhealthy way. Another account said: This is a warning if you dont like stuff about starving leave please.

Another user asked people to follow for low calorie safe food when you dont want to purge, a form of an eating disorder that involves self-induced vomiting, misuse of laxatives or medications.

TikTok said it had banned six accounts flagged to them for violating the community guidelines on posting content that promotes eating habits that are likely to cause health problems.

Dr Jon Goldin, vice-chair of the child and adolescent faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, described the findings as deeply disturbing. He urged social media companies to do more and said regulators needed strong powers to sanction inaction.

Ysabel Gerrard, a lecturer in digital media and society at the University of Sheffield, said: It takes little more than 30 seconds to find a pro-eating disorder account on TikTok and, once a user is following the right people, their For You page will quickly be flooded with content from similar users. This is because TikTok is essentially designed to show you what it thinks you want to see.

TikToks For You page is a feed of videos not always from people you follow recommended by an algorithm based on your history. People have reported being served up accounts that regularly post about eating disorders, weight loss or diets.

Gerrard said that since the first wave of press coverage about pro-eating disorder content on TikTok, the company had taken steps to address the issue by banning ads for fasting apps and weight-loss supplements. I applaud the company for making it. However, there are some more things that TikTok urgently needs to do to make the platform even safer, she said. She added that restricting the results for hashtag searches is not enough, and hashtag searches might not even be the way users find new content anyway.

At present, TikTok doesnt send resources to people in the UK searching for pro-eating disorder terms. It simply says no results found or directs you to the platforms community guidelines their rulebook for user behaviour, Gerrard said.

She acknowledged that removing content was tricky. In particular, TikTok would need to be careful when limiting search results for usernames because some accounts might be pro-recovery, and theres plenty of evidence to tell us how helpful social media can be for people with eating disorders.

Tom Quinn, director of external affairs for Beat, the UKs eating disorder charity, said: So-called pro-ana or pro-mia content can be very attractive to people affected by eating disorders and has the potential to be devastating.

Quinn said they had shared their concerns with TikTok, and the company had been receptive to hearing from people with experience of eating disorders in order to make their platform safer. We welcome the steps they have taken against advertising weight-loss products, and we urge them to take further action against harmful content, he said.

The Conservative MP, Damian Collins, the former chair of a parliamentary committee charged with investigating social platforms, said it was not clear howTikToks algorithm worked. Its amazing how fast TikTok has grown I would like for them tackle this [pro eating disorder content] and explain what policies they will be put in place to more effectively spot and not promote harmful content.

A spokesperson for TikTok said: As soon as this issue was brought to our attention, we took action banning the accounts and removing the content that violated those guidelines, as well as banning particular search terms. As content changes, we continue to work with expert partners, update our technology and review our processes to ensure we can respond to emerging and new harmful activities.

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TikTok investigating videos promoting starvation and anorexia - The Guardian

Find out how you can lose weight during the holidays at Prolean Wellness – Yahoo News

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:54 am

The Conversation

The world is eagerly awaiting the release of several COVID-19 vaccines, but Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is not. Im not going to take it. Its my right, he said in a Nov. 26 social media broadcast. Bolsonaro, who came down with COVID-19 in July, has also criticized face masks. He and his more faithful supporters oppose any suggestion of mandatory coronavirus vaccinations. Vaccine resistance has a long history in Brazil. In November 1904, thousands of people in the city of Rio de Janeiro protested government-mandated smallpox vaccinations in a famous revolt that nearly ended with a coup. Making modern BrazilThe smallpox vaccine had arrived in Brazil almost a century earlier. But the syringes were long, left skin pockmarked and could transmit other diseases such as syphilis. Between 1898 and 1904, only 2% to 10% of Rios population was vaccinated yearly, according to historian Sidney Chalhoub. In 1904, smallpox killed 0.4% of Rio residents a higher percentage of the population than COVID-19s victims in New York City this year.But these were not the only reasons Brazil made vaccinations mandatory in 1904. As part of a modernization plan to attract European immigration and foreign investment, President Rodrigues Alves was committed to eradicating epidemics not just smallpox, but also yellow fever and the bubonic plague.To rid Rio de Janeiro, then the nations capital, of sanitary hazards while opening space for Parisian-style avenues and buildings, hundreds of tenements were demolished between 1903 and 1909. Almost 40,000 people mostly Afro-Brazilians but also poor Italian, Portuguese and Spanish immigrants were evicted and removed from downtown Rio. Many were left homeless, forced to resettle on nearby hillsides or in distant rural areas. Meanwhile, public health agents accompanied by armed police systematically disinfected homes with sulfur that destroyed furniture and other belongings whether residents welcomed them or not. Conspiracy and barricadesPoliticians and military officers who opposed President Alves saw opportunity in the outrage these health initiatives caused. They stoked discontent.With the help of labor organizers and news editors, Alves opponents led a campaign against Brazils public health mandates throughout 1904. Newspapers reported on violent home disinfections and forced vaccinations. Senators and other public figures declared that mandatory vaccinations encroached on peoples homes and bodies.In mid-November of that year, thousands of protesters gathered in public squares to rally against public health efforts. Rio police reacted with disproportionate force, triggering six days of unrest in the city. A racially diverse crowd of students, construction workers, port workers and other residents fought back, armed with rocks, housewares or the tools of their trade, flipping over streetcars to barricade the streets. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, conspirators were mobilizing young military cadets. Their plan: to overthrow Alves government. Their scheme was foiled when the president called upon both the Army and the Navy to contain protesters and detain alleged insurgents. Brazils great vaccine revolt was soon suppressed. The language of rightsAfterward, newspapers portrayed protesters as an ignorant mass, manipulated by cunning politicians. They deemed one of the uprisings popular leaders, Horcio Jos da Silva known as Black Silver a disorderly thug.But Brazils vaccine revolt was more than a cynical political manipulation. Digging into archives, historians like me are learning what really motivated the uprising.The violent and segregationist features of Alves urban plan are one obvious answer. In early 20th-century Brazil, most people women, those who couldnt read, the unemployed couldnt vote. For these Brazilians, the streets were the only place to have their voices heard.But why would they so virulently oppose methods that controlled the spread of disease?Delving into newspapers and legal records, I have found that critics of Brazils 1904 public health drive often expressed their opposition in terms of inviolability of the home, both on the streets and in courts.For elite Brazilians, invoking this constitutional right was about protecting the privacy of their households, where men ruled over wives, children and servants. Public health agents threatened this patriarchal authority by demanding access to homes and womens bodies.Poor men and women in Rio also held patriarchal values. But for them there was more than privacy at stake in 1904. Throughout the 19th century, enslaved Afro-Brazilians had formed families and built homes, even on plantations, carving out spaces of relative freedom from their masters. After slavery was abolished in 1888, many freed Afro-Brazilians shared crowded tenements with immigrants. By the time of Alvess vaccination drive, the poor of Rio had been fighting eviction and police violence for decades. For Black Brazilians, then, defending their rights to choose what to do or not to do with their homes and bodies was part of a much longer struggle for social, economic and political inclusion. Deadly learning experienceFour years after the 1904 revolt, Rio was struck by another smallpox epidemic. With so many people unvaccinated, deaths doubled; almost 1% of the city perished.[Deep knowledge, daily. Sign up for The Conversations newsletter.]It was a deadly learning experience. From then on, Brazilian leaders framed mandatory smallpox, measles and other vaccines as a means to protect the common good, and invested in educational campaigns to explain why. Throughout the 20th century, vaccinations were extremely successful in Brazil. Since the 1990s, 95% of children have been vaccinated, though the numbers are dropping.Today, Brazil is one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. As in the past, Afro-Brazilians are hurting more than others.By invoking Brazilians individual right not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, President Bolsonaro is ignoring the lessons of 1904 undermining a century of hard work fighting disease in Brazil.This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Pedro Cantisano, University of Nebraska Omaha.Read more: * COVID-19 is deadlier for black Brazilians, a legacy of structural racism that dates back toslavery * In Brazils raging pandemic, domestic workers fear for their lives and theirjobsPedro Cantisano does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

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Find out how you can lose weight during the holidays at Prolean Wellness - Yahoo News

If You’re Trying to Lose Weight, You Will be More Successful With This | On Air with Ryan Seacrest | Ryan Seacrest – On Air With Ryan Seacrest

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:53 am

If you're trying to lose weight, you will be much more successful if you have one of these. Can you guess what it is?

Ryan Seacrest shared on-air that he always tries to run a "deficit" before the holidays because he knows he's going to overdo it when we get to the festivities. So, if youre also trying to drop a few pounds this year, did you know you will be more successful if you have a partner?

Seacrest dropped the knowledge in today's hack.

And it doesnt have to be a romantic partner. It could be a roommate, a friend, a sibling, etc. According to Weight Watchers, a new study featuring 800 people trying to get in shape showed that those with a participating partner were more than twice as likely to have success.

So, buddy up! Safely, that is!

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If You're Trying to Lose Weight, You Will be More Successful With This | On Air with Ryan Seacrest | Ryan Seacrest - On Air With Ryan Seacrest

4 Reasons To Include Spinach And Other Leafy Greens In Your Winter Diet – Doctor NDTV

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:53 am

Leafy green vegetables in winter: The best part about leafy greens is that they are low in calories and can safely be included in a weight loss diet. They are versatile, which means that they are easy on the pocket, conveniently-available, and there are multiple ways to include them in your diet.

Leafy green vegetables are good for people with high blood pressure as well

Time and again, we have spoken about how eating leafy greenscan be beneficial for your health. From benefiting people with high blood pressure to diabetes and cholesterol issues, leafy green vegetables can help you in several ways. Spinach, mustard greens and fenugreek leaves are three of the most common leafy green vegetables that are available in winter. The cold season is also the time to rev up your immunity in order to be free of cough, cold, flu and other infections.

Vitamin A in leafy greens can help in improving eyesight. Spinach specifically contains zeaxanthin, lutein and beta-carotene, all of which helps in improving eyesight to a great extent.

Also read:These Useful Tips Can Help Maintain Your Child's Eyesight

Our immune function tends to dip during the winter months. It is thus important to work towards it by having a healthy and nourishing diet and regular exercise routine. Including a variety of leafy green vegetables in your diet can work wonders towards improving your immunity.

Eating leafy greens can help in improving your immunityPhoto Credit: iStock

Spinach is loaded with folate, a nutrient that can help in production of red blood cells. People with low haemoglobin can benefit by including spinach, kale, fenugreek leaves, lettuce, mustard greens and all other leafy green vegetables in their daily diet.

Also read:Weight Loss Diet: This Is What A Nutritionist Eats In A Day To Maintain Her Weight

The best part about leafy greens is that they are low in calories and can safely be included in a weight loss diet. They are versatile vegetables, which means that they are easy on the pocket, conveniently-available, and there are multiple ways to include them in your diet. They can be eaten in the form of salads, or can be added to lentils and can even be prepared as sabzis.

This winter, make sure that you eat sufficient leafy green vegetables, every day!

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Also read:Winter Health Tips: 3 Expert Tips To Stay Fit And Healthy This Season

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

DoctorNDTV is the one stop site for all your health needs providing the most credible health information, health news and tips with expert advice on healthy living, diet plans, informative videos etc. You can get the most relevant and accurate info you need about health problems like diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, weight loss and many other lifestyle diseases. We have a panel of over 350 experts who help us develop content by giving their valuable inputs and bringing to us the latest in the world of healthcare.

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What Is the Green Mediterranean Diet? How to Tweak the Program for Better Results – GoodHousekeeping.com

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:51 am

There's a reason why Mediterranean diet plans are consistently ranked the healthiest for people wishing to not only lose weight, but revolutionize their health entirely. At the Good Housekeeping Institute, our registered dietitian crowned the Mediterranean diet this year's best as the diet's staples lean proteins, seafood, crunchy vegetables, and plenty of healthy fats lead to immense cardiovascular benefits and fights inflammation. Plus, it promotes sustainable weight loss for people who aren't willing to sacrifice entire food groups (ahem, keto)! So imagine our delight when a new study, published this month in BMJ's Heart, claimed that a few small tweaks to the diet may accelerate its effects on heart health.

Researchers behind the study call it the "green" Mediterranean diet, a refined version of the diet plan that supercharges your daily meals by asking you to reach for more fiber and less red meat. What is the diet, exactly? The updated version requires people to cut red meat almost entirely out of their diet for best results, making more room for fiber and healthy fats sourced from lean protein. To make up for any deficiency, dieters are asked to consume what's known as Wolffia globosa, or a byproduct of duckweed, an aquatic plant. Plus, you'll need to incorporate 28g of walnuts per day into your snacking, and consume at least 3 cups of green tea (if not more).

Scientists arrived at this conclusion after splitting nearly 300 men and women into three groups, asking them to follow different diets over the course of 18 months. The first group simply received advice for upping their fitness and eating a healthier diet; the second group, however, was instructed to follow a regular Mediterranean diet and were placed on a calorie-based plan, as well as the same fitness advice. But the third group followed the "green" Mediterranean diet, eating the same amount of calories as the other Med group, albeit with the duckweed protein shake served at dinnertime, green tea throughout the day, added walnuts, and advice to avoid red meat entirely.

Those on the green version of the diet saw the best, most substantial changes to their health six months later; they had the biggest drop in cholesterol and blood pressure. Plus, this group lost roughly 14 pounds in just six months.

Here's the catch, though all of the groups saw beneficial results, explains Brierley Horton, MS, RD, a registered dietitian and nutritionist who has reviewed Mediterranean diet plans for years. All groups lost weight, including those on the regular Mediterranean diet (around 12 pounds!), and waist sizes slimmed down amid all participants. The same trend was true for cholesterol levels. "Yes, the 'green' Med diet group had better results but the Mediterranean diet still provided improvement for the other group in the study," she explains.

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Below, Horton walks us through what you need to know about the study's updated guidelines for Mediterranean diets, plus how you can incorporate a Med-diet-friendly protein shake into your routine.

If you haven't heard of it, you're not alone. Horton says research published in 2017 put this edible plant-protein, also known as Asian watermeal, on the map for most. A MentalFloss report claims duckweed, which has a flavor profile similar to watercress, is the smallest fruit in the world, but Horton explains that it manages to pack in a lot of protein nonetheless. Researchers have previously found that the protein counts in duckweed can be equal to "40% of [its] dry weight" in some conditions. "It's water-based, which is probably the reason why duckweed also manages to be a significant source of omega-3 fatty acids," Horton adds.

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But you've probably never seen a duckweed supplement in the health aisle or even at a

specialty store, as this protein is often mixed in with other sources to make "plant-based" supplements on the market today. The study indicates that dieters were given a specific frozen product made by Mankai, but Horton says it's unclear if the study's sponsors had any input on including this particular brand.

Don't fret if you can't find pure duckweed supplement: Horton says you can still pack in extra protein and omega 3s into your routine with a protein shake made with hemp, chia, or flax seeds. "Without getting into a nitty-gritty comparison to duckweed, all three of those seeds have high sources of omega 3s in them, and they're great sources of protein, and they're widely available to all of us right now."

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While more research needs to be done in order to understand why this version of the Mediterranean diet prompts better results, it's clear that cutting out any amount of fatty, processed red meats will lead to better health. "People who tend to dip into vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, they're just healthier overall, right? They have better markers for cardiometabolic risk, and less chronic inflammation," Horton explains. "Since the green Mediterranean diet is supplementing meat with plant-based protein in duckweed and other staples, it's not surprising that health is improving and then you also consider walnuts, which also have high amounts of omega 3s just like duckweed. Individually, these staples are good, and now they work together."

Remember: the "green" Mediterranean diet requires you to cut down on red meat for best results, to snack on a few handfuls of walnuts each day, to make a protein shake (either with duckweed protein or a similar substitute), and to drink 3 or 4 cups of green tea as well (which is healthier than soda or coffee). Cutting down or eliminating red meat looks different for everyone, Horton says: if you can slowly reduce the frequency that you're eating red meat, that's a good start.

You'll also be able to enjoy these staples:

If giving meat up entirely is a challenge for you, you can take a few steps to enjoy it without derailing your diet. First, select a cut of meat that is physically lean: "Go for a filet rather than a large ribeye," Horton advises. Second, make sure you're choosing fresh meat rather than processed products: "Avoid things like processed pork or deli meats," she adds. Lastly, if you have a hankering for bacon or a processed meat, Horton says try incorporating a smaller amount into an otherwise healthy dish. "It's about using it as a garnish or in the same style as a condiment, right? Put a dash of bacon or ham into what you're cooking, to add the flavor and enjoy it, without actually eating an entire plate of it on its own."

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What Is the Green Mediterranean Diet? How to Tweak the Program for Better Results - GoodHousekeeping.com

6 Stupid Holiday Food ‘Rules’ That Are Really Diets In Disguise – HuffPost

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:51 am

Its the most wonderful time of the year unless youre on a diet and have set impossible standards for eating during the holidays.

Theres nothing wrong with taking an everything in moderation approach at the dinner table, but other rules we establish for ourselves around the holidays can actually hinder rather than help our overall health. Think Ill work out extra hard so I can earn my holiday meal, or I want to eat clean this holiday, so Ill skip the pie.

Anyway, if youre stressing about holiday weight gain, youre probably doing so needlessly. Research shows that holiday weight gain does happen, but generally only to a minor degree. One study on college-aged adults found that holiday eating only contributed to between half a pound and two pounds of weight gain. You may not even gain anything at all. In any case, there should be no moral value assigned to weight loss or weight gain: Demonizing food at the holidays (or any other time) can have a negative effect on your mental health.

What are some of the most common rigid diet rules that people establish for themselves at the holidays even though theyre more harmful than healthy? Below, dietitians and other experts share what food concepts to throw out the window this holiday season.

Skipping a meal or snack before a holiday party to save room.

This one has restrictive diet written all over it. You could play the waiting game, but who wants to listen to their stomach grumble all day and get hangry at their relatives for not eating at an earlier hour? Plus, waiting until dinner to eat something may end up backfiring, said Cara Harbstreet, a registered dietitian at Street Smart Nutrition in Kansas City, Missouri, and the author of Healthy Eating for Life: An Intuitive Eating Workbook.

Your body still needs to be nourished and energized throughout the day, and skipping meals or snacks can leave you overly hungry or disconnected from hunger and fullness cues when it comes time to actually dig in, Harbstreet told HuffPost. Although many people use this approach, remember youre allowed to eat according to your hunger regardless of what holidays gatherings are taking place.

Working out hard to earn a holiday meal or treats.

The suggestion that we have to earn or burn our food is entirely rooted in diet culture, said Kathleen Meehan, a registered dietitian in Houston. Your big plate of food isnt an award for good behavior at the gym its just a plate of food.

This rule is often perpetuated in how we talk about movement or exercise, and sometimes its even used as a form of motivation for fitness classes, she said. This does a lot of harm and it can unintentionally play a part in normalizing eating disorder behaviors. (With disordered eating, a person is often preoccupied with excessive exercising as a way to burn off calories.)

Telling yourself your diet starts in the new year, as a way to give yourself permission to eat holiday foods now.

When youre fixated on your diet, you may fall prey to now-or-never thinking: Ill load up on all my faves now green bean casserole and a double serving of stuffing and start my diet first thing tomorrow.

But sometimes, thoughts like this cause people to abandon their natural hunger and fullness cues, said Andrea Wachter, a psychotherapist and author of Getting Over Overeating for Teens.

Why cant we eat our favorite foods all year long? she said. When we eat the foods that we like, love, and need in amounts that are respectful to our bodies, we have no use for this type of all-or-nothing thinking.

Wachter said to imagine telling a kid that starting in January, theyll be restricted to limited, low-calorie foods. That kid would probably load up and binge on cookies and other sweets.

The reality is, kids need a variety of nutritious, delicious foods along with some yummy treats and so do adults, she said. Try setting a New Years resolution to feed yourself in a non-restrictive and respectful manner and, if needed, seek support for the unresolved issues that lead to dieting in the first place.

Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images

Restricting yourself from drinks with calories.

Many diets have rules against drinking caloric or sugary beverages, and instead encourage us to stick to water, diet drinks, coffee or tea. That may be a sustainable goal during other seasons, but it can exclude you from many of the social activities and fun of the holidays, Harbstreet said.

If you want to enjoy a comes-around-once-a-year nostalgic recipe, spiced mocktail, or festive favorite, go right ahead, she said. Remember that zero-calorie beverages arent inherently better or more satisfying than the drink youre really craving.

This isnt just about alcohol, she added, although thats certainly an option if you wish to indulge responsibly.

Making healthy swaps for dishes you love, so you can enjoy them guilt-free.

Give yourself permission to eat what you like this holiday season. (Some of these dishes are only on offer once a year, so why deprive yourself of that deliciousness?)

I often encourage clients to consider what healthy really means to them, Meehan said. How can we expand the binary healthy vs. unhealthy and add in some room for nuance? If swapping out ingredients for the healthy version means less satisfaction, pleasure, connection to memories or your culture... is that really going to be healthy for you?

Thinking of food as something to burn off.

Again, dieting often trains us to think of eating and exercise as an exchange system: calories in, calories out. If we know we cant work off the sweets at the table, we might pass and say, Ah, Id love to, but theres no way I could work that off with the amount of exercise Ive been doing lately.

We internalize that into a belief that we must make up for or compensate for what we eat through physical activity, Harbstreet said.

Instead of refusing a serving of food, tap into your appetite and enjoy what you love with zero guilt. If youre full and cant take a slice of cheesecake, recognize that. But if its calling your name and you have room, by all means, have some.

Theres no need to adopt an earn-and-burn mindset around food and eating, Harbstreet said. Just enjoy it if you want to, or pass if you dont.

How to actually enjoy the holiday foods youre eating

If your goal is to eat smart this season and into the new year you may want to give intuitive eating a shot. Its the idea that no dieting is the very best diet of all.

Instead of falling into the trap of tiresome food rules, intuitive eaters listen to their bodies and give themselves permission to eat what they want. They rely on their internal hunger and fullness cues to tell them when, what and how much to eat.

Given how ineffective diets can be 95% of people who lose weight on a diet regain it within five years many dietitians and nutritionists are starting to sing the praises of intuitive eating.

I think as the holidays approach, its wise to consider exploring the non-diet approach, which allows for a peaceful relationship with food by allowing permission to eat pleasurable, satisfying foods year-round, Meehan said.

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6 Stupid Holiday Food 'Rules' That Are Really Diets In Disguise - HuffPost

The power of supplements: how they work and what they do – Eye On Annapolis

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:51 am

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Supplements contain substances that provide the body with vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. They can come in capsule, gel tablet, powder, extract, and sometimes liquid forms. They are used and consumed to make up for a certain deficiencies in the body of a specific nutrient or vitamin or to prevent the occurrence of potential health problems. Sometimes, they even contain fiber, enzymes, amino acids, or plants that are needed for a health condition of the person who takes them. They are very easy to find in drugstores or grocery stores and you dont need a prescription from a doctor to buy a dietary supplement or vitamin.

Supplements can be a very good solution for people who cant eat certain categories of food. Although they should not be used as a substitute for healthy foods, most people find it very challenging to get all the required nutrients needed for maintaining a healthy lifestyle from their diet alone. Thats why they turn to vitamins and dietary supplements. The health experts at NatuRoids.health explain that some plant-based supplements can provide natural steroid-like effects for athletes trying to increase their stamina and gain muscle mass. Other dietary supplements can provide you with calcium and vitamin D that enhance bone growth and prevent age-related bone damage. Even heart diseases can be avoided or treated with some help from omega-3 fatty acids found in some over-the-counter dietary supplements.

When taking supplements, a person has to remain cautious and consult experts to avoid unnecessary complications. Its important to talk to your doctor when taking a certain supplement and this is to ensure that you are not going to develop any extreme side effects from its presence in your body. For instance, some supplements cannot be taken before surgery, or they can interact with the anesthesia meds given before surgery, which can alter your response to pain and create risk during the procedure. Other supplements may even cause or increase internal bleeding, which is a big problem, and therefore, you will need to be fully aware of the dietary addition you are adding and check with a medical professional before you do.

Supplements can be a great addition to your diet, but you need to be cautious if you are dealing with any medical condition. Always talk to your doctor before introducing any new substance into your diet and make sure you choose the right supplement before buying one. Its also important to read about the side effects of any supplement youre considering and make sure none of them are likely to affect your health negatively.

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The power of supplements: how they work and what they do - Eye On Annapolis

Looking to lose weight? This might be the answer – Marin Independent Journal

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:51 am

We are on a constant search for ways to lose weight on both sides of the equation, meaning we are always looking for ways to decrease calorie intake (and still be able to eat Christmas cookies) and we are always searching for ways to burn more calories.

We really like the idea of burning more calories without working for it. Really, isnt that the magic pill people are looking for?

The thermic effect of food is one of those exercise-free mechanisms to burn more calories. The thermic effect refers to an increase of metabolic rate after eating food. It costs energy to eat and digest food. Our basal metabolic rate is when we are sitting around doing nothing. As soon as we start doing something, tapping a finger, or even digesting a cookie we are burning calories. Well skip the benefits of chewing every bite an extra 20 times as we dont want to become a country of round-headed, muscle-faced, pit bull-looking over-chewers. Instead, well focus on the heat produced by digesting and storing food.

Chilies, not celery

Some foods are easier to process than others. Studies show that 20% to 35% of protein calories consumed is used up during the digestive process. Whereas fats and carbohydrates range from 5% to 15% of energy consumed. The joke that celery burns more calories than you eat because of the work needed to digest it has not been verified. A study did show that adding chilies to a diet increases the thermic effect, which technically means that eating hot peppers helps you lose weight.

The mechanism of the thermic effect of food are not fully understood. It is hypothesized that vegans who eat a low-fat diet have increased the thermic effect of the food they eat. This might be due to depleting fats within liver and muscle cells. This lack of fat is believed to increase mitochondrial energy (remember the powerhouse of the cell?) and an increase in metabolism after eating.

A recent four-month study of 244 overweight to obese people measured these effects. One half of the participants were put on a low-fat vegan diet and the other half just kept eating their normal diet. Obviously, this was a major change for many of the participants. The weight lost wasnt just due to a change of thermic effect many people were now eating a diet much higher in fiber, lower in fat, and lower in energy density.

The study group was put on a diet of 75% carbohydrates, 15% protein, and 10% fat. The group receive classes and cooking demos as well as printed materials on what foods to eat and what meals to make. The researchers didnt provide any meals and trusted the participants to make their own food, not break the rules and accurately report what they ate. This degree of freedom was a real weakness in the study, but at the same time, replicates real life. After all, if this article stimulates anyone to change their diet, rest assured I wont be looking over their shoulder to tsk tsk when they break the rules.

Less booze, same exercise

Both groups were asked to limit alcohol and make no change to their exercise habits. Then, over the next four months a bunch of tests were taken.

The newly vegan group lost an average of about 14 pounds each. The control group lost about 1 pound each. This implies just knowing someone is looking over your shoulder at what you eat isnt a real motivator to change a diet. Cholesterol and LDL levels decreased significantly. So did insulin resistance. This is important for diabetics and those with pre-diabetes.

Forty-four subjects underwent imaging to examine liver fat levels. Pate lovers know that fatty livers taste better, but they definitely arent healthier. The study group has their liver fat levels drop by just over one-third. The decrease in liver fat level is believed to increase the thermic effect of food. It was also directly related to decreased insulin resistance. This study was one of the first to show that direct relationship.

Although hard to prove, the study did show that switching to a vegan diet for only four months had a significant effect on insulin resistance and weight loss.

Just maybe, this New Years resolution should include becoming vegan. It isnt easy. Some start with a day a week, then two, and keep moving up as they learn what meals they like. Others quit cold turkey (literally and figuratively) now that were past Thanksgiving it should be easier.

Dr. Salvatore Iaquinta is a head and neck surgeon at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael and the author of The Year They Tried To Kill Me. He takes you on the Highway to Health every fourth Monday.

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Looking to lose weight? This might be the answer - Marin Independent Journal

Is American Dietetics a White-Bread World? These Dietitians Think So – The New York Times

Posted: December 8, 2020 at 3:51 am

Even when Dr. Crayton was president of the academy, in 2015 and 2016, she felt out of step with its other leaders. I have heard that behind my back they called me an angry Black woman, because I raised questions, she said. Her nominations of Black dietitians for leadership roles, she added, were frequently snubbed.

Told of her comments, the academy responded, We were not aware of this until now, and we are very saddened to hear that Evelyn was subjected to these inexcusable statements. They do not reflect the academys core values and we are moving swiftly to investigate this matter.

The professions exclusivity goes beyond race. Kai Iguchi, 28, a dietitian working at Rogers Behavioral Health in Oconomowoc, Wis., didnt feel comfortable coming out as nonbinary to graduate-school classmates. When the program itself as a culture is very cisgender, thin, white and female, they said, it is hard to be different and succeed.

Mx. Iguchi said what they learned at school did little to address the unique problems that transgender and nonbinary clients face being misgendered by their dietitians and family members, or feeling discomfort with overtly feminine imagery on health materials. Adult transgender people are also at high risk of developing eating disorders, according to a 2019 study by the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Even some dietitians who teach the standard curriculum find it wanting. I have reached my limit with my textbook, said Maya Feller, an adjunct professor in nutrition at New York University, adding that it doesnt take into account social factors that often explain why people of color are disproportionally affected by health issues.

She said she was also unhappy with educational resources like MyPlate, which recommends meals like salmon, brown rice and broccoli, but not the curried chana and doubles served by her mother, who grew up in Trinidad. (After her interview for this article, Ms. Feller was hired as a consultant to help make MyPlate more inclusive.)

If I saw that plate and then looked at my doubles, I would be like, Well, my food is no good.

Ms. Feller, 43, tries instead to promote an ongoing and consistent education around cultural humility not telling patients what they cant eat, but considering the foods they have access to, and embracing, not stigmatizing, their cultural preferences.

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Is American Dietetics a White-Bread World? These Dietitians Think So - The New York Times


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