Bigorexia, also known as muscle dysmorphia, is a health condition that can cause you to think constantly about building muscle on your body.

Bigorexia shares some of the same symptoms as other disorders like anorexia nervosa and is a type of body dysmorphic disorder.

Bigorexia appears to be on the rise, especially among young adults. Lets take a look at the symptoms, risk factors, coping strategies, and treatments available for muscle dysmorphia.

Bigorexia is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) as a body dysmorphic disorder that triggers a preoccupation with the idea that your body is too small or not muscular enough.

When you have bigorexia, you are fixated on the thought that there is something wrong with the way that your body looks. That can influence your behavior.

Muscle dysmorphia can look like many things, including:

When left untreated, bigorexia can escalate and lead to:

Other mental health conditions, such as disordered eating and obsessive-compulsive disorder, may also play a role in this condition.

There is still some debate in the medical community on whether bigorexia should be classified simply as a body dysmorphic disorder, or if it has more in common with eating disorders or addiction.

Bigorexia is primarily a psychological condition, though it can appear in physical ways.

Someone with bigorexia might experience some of the following symptoms:

Many symptoms of bigorexia may feel relatively normal. But when you are pushing your body to achieve fitness goals that always seem out of reach, there may be more going on than simply wanting to be in good shape.

Its not always clear who will experience bigorexia.

As the Mayo Clinic points out, certain life experiences and underlying psychological factors may make you more likely to have body dysmorphia.

Both women and men can have muscle dysmorphia. Negative experiences during childhood, such as bullying or teasing about your size, may play a role in having this condition.

A 2019 study of over 14,000 young people found that 22 percent of males and 5 percent of females reported having disordered eating patterns linked to working out and getting more muscular.

The same study also found that having other mental health conditions can put you at higher risk for bigorexia. People into bodybuilding, certain sports, or wrestling communities are also more likely to have this condition.

If you have bigorexia, you may be looking for ways to control your symptoms.

While there are some things that you can do at home, you may need to seek a professional mental health provider to treat your condition.

You can start treating muscle dysmorphia today by making changes, including:

You may also want to start your treatment by calling or starting an online chat with the National Eating Disorder Helpline.

You may also want to speak to a mental health professional about your symptoms, especially if muscle dysmorphia is impacting your relationships and causing you to consider self-harm.

These treatments may include:

If you have muscle dysmorphia along with other mental health conditions, your provider may recommend a medication like a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) to help stabilize your moods during treatment.

Living with bigorexia means finding coping strategies that work.

These strategies can help you with your symptoms and give you a sense of control:

Youre far from alone in living with bigorexia, whether you or someone you know experiences these symptoms.

Its now estimated that 1 in 50 people have some type of body dysmorphia. A documentary called Bigorexia has shed light on the way that muscle dysmorphia impacts the professional bodybuilding community.

Talking to a friend, family member, or someone else you trust about your experiences with bigorexia can be a helpful first step in taking control back of your life from an obsession with looking a certain way.

If you are having thoughts of self-harm because of bigorexia or any mental health condition, reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741 to speak with a counselor today.

Muscle dysmorphia is a real health condition, and symptoms can be difficult to manage.

More people are becoming aware of body dysmorphia and related problems since public figures, including Jane Fonda, Elton John, Princess Diana, Lady Gaga, Zayn Malik, and Taylor Swift, have grown honest about having body image concerns.

As more people speak out about living with this condition, the stigma and myths around it can dissipate.

There is help and support for you if you are living with muscle dysmorphia. A mental health provider can get you started on a treatment plan, and self-care changes can get your symptoms under control.

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What Is Bigorexia? Definition, Symptoms, Coping & More - Healthline

Food is why were all here. It sustains life, spreads joy and brings us together.

But if we are to feed 10 billion people in a healthy way within planetary boundaries, the way in which we produce and consume food needs to change. As the coronavirus pandemic puts food security and nutrition at risk in many countries and hurts the livelihoods of small producers, we are called to re-evaluate our food systems.

As consumers, we have the power to be part of this transition. Informed and empowered consumers send a powerful message to producers and policymakers alike.

During the last century, the focus on crop yields and making food accessible and affordable has contributed to immense progress, with reductions in hunger, improved life expectancy, falling infant and child mortality rates, and decreased global poverty.

Still, nearly 700 million people equivalent to half of Indias population are undernourished. At the same time, 2 billion adults are overweight or obese and 1 in 5 deaths around the world are related to poor diets. Unhealthy diets have become a leading cause of mortality, killing more people globally than drug, alcohol and tobacco use combined.

Our diets are damaging our health.

Image: WWF

What is more, this singular focus on yield and efficiency has come at a significant cost for our planet. Todays food systems contribute up to 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions and are a leading driver in the dramatic decline in biodiversity, putting us in the midst of a sixth mass extinction.

Beneath our feet another crisis is unfolding: soils are being turned to dirt. Soil is a living system bursting with lifeforms that all play important roles in delivering nutrients to plants, maintaining soil fertility, retaining water and fighting climate change. Replenishing and protecting the worlds soil carbon stores could help offset up to 5.5bn tonnes of greenhouse gases every year.

But currently, about one-third of the worlds soil is degraded due in large part to intensive farming practices. Scientists predict that share will jump to 90% by 2050, if nothing changes. Without healthy soil, we face increased risks of desertification, dust storms and flooding. We also lose productive land, with crop yields predicted to fall by as much as 50% in certain regions, leading to forced migrations and violent conflicts. Ultimately, unhealthy soil equates to unhealthy food as the nutritional value of fruits, vegetables and grains is declining due to soil depletion.

But there is a way to change this worrying course and heal the land and balance the climate while feeding the world with healthy food. It is called regenerative farming.

Based on ancient knowledge, pioneering holistic planning and cutting-edge science, regenerative agriculture increases biodiversity, replenishes soils, improves water security, stores carbon and improves the nutritional value of our food through simple practices such as no-tilling, the use of perennial crops and livestock rotation. This type of agriculture also supports thriving farmer communities, so they can retain a larger share of their profits.

While shifting from destructive and extractive agriculture will take major efforts from governments and business alike, consumers also have the responsibility and power to act. How and what we eat matters, and we must use that power wisely.

Boycotts, demonstrations, and campaigns on social media have been powerful levers to demand positive change. However, there are simpler changes that consumers, especially in wealthier countries, can make to drive action:

1. Eat nutritious plant-rich diets.

Currently, the average meat intake for someone living in a high-income country is 200-250g a day far higher than the 80-90g recommended by the United Nations, and ten-fold that of lower-income countries. Livestock takes up nearly 80% of global agricultural land, is a leading cause of tropical forest clearing and uses enormous amounts of water, yet produces less than 20% of the worlds supply of calories.

Overconsumption of red and processed meats is also making us sick. Eating red and processed meats as little as twice a week increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death by 3 to 7%. Sustainably managed, grass-fed and humanely raised livestock needs to be part of regenerative farm ecosystems.

However, it is likely such systems will not be able to feed the worlds growing appetite for meat on existing land. While it might sound counterintuitive, to support regenerative ranchers, consumers should increase their intake of alternative proteins such as whole grains, nuts and seeds, and fruits and vegetables while carefully choosing where they get their meat.

2. Diversify what's on your plate.

Regenerative farms are diverse by design, integrating a large variety of crops and wildlife on the same land. This contrasts with our global food systems, which have tended towards general homogenization of landscapes and agricultural varieties, as high-output varieties have come to dominate. Despite there being about 30,000 edible plant species, more than 40% of our daily calories come from three staple crops: rice, wheat and maize. And 75% of the worlds food comes from just 12 plant and five animal species. In China, for example, there has been a decline in the number of local rice varieties from 46,000 in the 1950s to slightly more than 1,000 in 2006.

This uniformization can make poor and marginalized populations vulnerable to pests and the impacts of climate change and threaten global food security. Dietary diversity also makes eating more fun, tasteful, healthy and adventurous. Eating more diverse whole foods would stimulate the search for adapted species and varieties and thus increase cultivated biodiversity and support local regenerative farmers.

We need to transform our food systems.

Image: WWF

3. Reduce and repurpose your waste.

One-third of the food is wasted worldwide representing an agricultural land area larger than Canada and India together while 821 million people are undernourished. When food is lost or wasted, all the resources that were used to produce it water, land, energy, labour and capital go to waste. In addition, the disposal of food loss and waste in landfills leads to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change.

Consumers in wealthy nations waste up to 115 kilograms of food per capita a year on average, compared with just 6 to 11 kilograms per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Simple steps such as meal planning, picking the ugly vegetable, following the use-by rather than the best before date, freezing leftovers and composting food scraps to turn them into valuable nutrients for the soil go a long way.

Two billion people in the world currently suffer from malnutrition and according to some estimates, we need 60% more food to feed the global population by 2050. Yet the agricultural sector is ill-equipped to meet this demand: 700 million of its workers currently live in poverty, and it is already responsible for 70% of the worlds water consumption and 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

New technologies could help our food systems become more sustainable and efficient, but unfortunately the agricultural sector has fallen behind other sectors in terms of technology adoption.

Launched in 2018, the Forums Innovation with a Purpose Platform is a large-scale partnership that facilitates the adoption of new technologies and other innovations to transform the way we produce, distribute and consume our food.

With research, increasing investments in new agriculture technologies and the integration of local and regional initiatives aimed at enhancing food security, the platform is working with over 50 partner institutions and 1,000 leaders around the world to leverage emerging technologies to make our food systems more sustainable, inclusive and efficient.

Learn more about Innovation with a Purpose's impact and contact us to see how you can get involved.

Informed and empowered consumerism can be transformative in demanding better food systems. This requires us to recalibrate our expectations about the role of farming, fishing and food in our lives starting with understanding the impact of our dietary decisions on our health, society and environment.

Food is a central part of our lives. Its time to reconnect with it for your health, for people and for the planet.

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How your food choices can clean up the planet and feed the world - World Economic Forum

This holiday, chances are you'll be sharing a table with a smaller group than ever, but since 1 in 4 Americans is eating more plant-based, you will likely be told by one member of the group: "I am eating plant-based or vegan these days." It could even be you, telling your family about your resolve to be healthier, for yourself and the planet and for the sake of animals. Luckily two doctors have written a new book on how to go plant-based and get your family on board, and do it in a way that is healthy and sound. These doctors, one pediatrician and another a plant-based health expert, both know the ins and outs of getting enough vitamins and minerals, protein and micro-nutrients, and how to make sure that everyone at your table who chooses to eat plant-based does so healthfully and safely, without compromising any aspect of their diet.

Dr. Reshma Shahis a Pediatrician in the Bay Area, a clinical affiliate at Stanford University Medical School, and a practitioner of integrated medicine at Stanford. Dr. Brenda Davis is a dedicated Registered Dietician who has written a total of 12 books on the topic, having raised her now-grown kids at a plant-based table.

Together they have written a new book, a comprehensive guide to getting started on plant-based nutrition for families, calledNourish:.

"If there is a parent who is plant-based or who is interested in being more so, wewanted to give them the tools they need to feed their families this way, and to not have to worry about nutrient deficiency, so we provide practical tips and strategies," Dr. Shah said. The book has over 50 recipes to help them get started.Dr. Brenda Davis is one of the pioneering dieticians on plant-based eating for all ages. She has written books on how to eat healthy on a vegan or vegetarian diet, a raw vegan diet, and how to eat to avoid or reversetype 2 diabetes. Dr. Davis has been pioneering this topic for 30 years, has spoken in 30 countries, and conducted research on this topic, even in the Canary Islands. She helpsfamilies eat plant-based from every age and life stage, taking them through pregnancy and lactation and of course parenting.

"People know I am vegan and plant-based and parents will come to me and say my daughter wants to be vegetarian and can you please convince her not to be? Instead, I want to help parents learn that she can be, and it's healthy. And that they can do it too. We wanted to give them the tools to do it safely and effectively. And of course, now there are manyparents who think it's better for the planet and their family's health, but it would not know where to begin."

"The one thing we want people to know is that it's completely possible to raise healthy, vibrant kids on a plant-based diet. It's not that difficult," says Dr. Shah. "People think that if you are plant-based or vegan, you have to focus on the nutrients, but I would point out that this is true of omnivorous kids too. All diets have to be appropriately planned. You can do it safely and adequately on a plant-based diet."

"And people assume if I need a supplement on a plant-based diet, it's not as good to eat that say," Dr. Davis adds. "But the grains that we all buy at the store now are fortified with vitamins and so is our milk and our formulas. We have supplements in our diets already."

"People think they have to do it all at once, but you don't. Go at a pace that is a fit for your family. So you don't have to go all at once," Dr. Shah points out. "The first thing to do is to stake stock of what your family enjoys and look at that. Do they love pasta with marinara sauce? Great. Or if they are used to meat sauce, you can add plant-based meat if you want to. Try a tofu scramble instead of eggs one morning. Figure out how to make whatever they already enjoy into a plant-based version, and trying doing more of that."

Substitute the easy things: Almost or oat milk for the real thing. Non-dairy butter, cheese spreads, and nut cheese work well. You can easily substitute a flax egg or chia egg, the doctors recommend. Make swaps where your family is not going to even notice.

"We definitely emphasize cooking at home with whole grain and whole food ingredients but swap in plant-based meals as often as you like at first, then do more of that over time," Dr. Shah says. Don't sweat it if you backtrack. No vegan police are going to come around and say you can't use a veggie burger. Some of these foods are really helpful as kids are trying to transition.

Some parents worry about birthday parties and soccer, she points out. "Try to be plant-based at home and don't worry too much about what happens outside the home," she suggests. "Or bring your own snack. People who have allergies like celiac or nut allergies so less judgment around that."

Dr. Shah adds: It's so easy to transition breakfast. so many plant milk and scrambles. It gets a little trickier at dinner because it's built around animal products in our culture. But look at the spaghetti and meatballs or tacos and look at how m=you might transition that to a plant-based version. Try veggie balls andall diff things and see how your family likes them. Keep experimenting, adding one recipe at a time or one meal at a time can be really helpful.

And of course, if it's the teenager that has decided to become vegan and it's the parents who are resistant. it the teenager who has to be responsible for going to the store and bringing home vegan options.

Sometimes the kids are the ones leading the charge. "How your family handles it will depend on whether it is the parent's idea or the kid's idea," says Dr. Shah. "The kids are going to be a lot keener if it's their idea. Children will be sensitive about this transition," she adds, especially since if they come home from a rescue farm or petting zoo and announce they're not eating meat, they want to be respected in that decision.

If the kids are the ones transitioning then the parents may be reluctant, Dr. Davis has found. Some people will watch Forks over Knives or What the Health, or whatever the movie is and they are vegan the next day. How the transition goes will depend a lot on how who is driving and how fast you want to transition.

"There are so many advantages with a plant-based diet in terms of disease,butthere is also the potential for deficiencies," says Dr. Shah. The two you worry the most about are vitamins B12 and D. But the truth is that most of the population is lacking in vitamin D. The other things that could be a deficiency in calcium, especially foryoung kids growing fast, like 4 to 8-year-olds. Even an adult can have a hard time getting 1,000 milligrams a day of iodine, but if you cook with iodized salt that can help. For vegans, you do have to be somewhat aware of iodine sources.

"Supplements can help put parents at ease," she adds. "We are not opposed to parents using a multivitamin that has some of the nutrients like D and B and iodine, especially for kids, but we recommend a liquid supplement like a vegan chewable... to prevent choking."

The bottom line is you can be plant-based and healthy at every age and stage.

Dr. Davis pointsout that for longevity, plant-based eating has been a boon to her health. "I am close to 62 and I don't feel much different from when I was 35. "I can still do handstands and headstands and rollerblade and run and ski and have races with my grandkids.

"Eating plant-based has preserved the integrity of my body. I look at my relatives and in comparison, I am still the same weight, a few =pounds thinner than when I got married. Really grateful for that. That is one of the perks of living a healthy lifestyle. there are a lot of perks."

And, she adds, if you need one more reason: "I think it's easier to feel good about yourself."

Original post:
How to Help Your Family Go Plant-Based and Be Healthy, By Doctors - The Beet

Lightly seasoned salmon strips, made mostly from Bristol Bay reds, are the third product made by Bambinos Baby Food of Anchorage that is aimed at getting more seafood into the mouths of babes.

I always kind of giggle because its not going to be just for the little ones. Im sure mom and dad and elder brother or sister are going to be gnawing on those as well, said Zoi Maroudas, Bambinos founder and operator. I also wanted to honor our indigenous families and traditions and share how natural, nutrient-rich omega strips can be so good for a little one to enjoy. Instead of a cookie or cracker, a frozen salmon strip.

Seeing our community and friends near and far now having the option to find Pivsi (Inupiaq for dried fish) at Bambinos is very exciting and a healthy new option for kiddos, said Lars Nelson, president of TRIBN construction company at Utqiagvik, and parent of six.

(Bambinos Baby Food)

Maroudas, who was born in Greece and came to Alaska as a child (her family owns Pizza Olympia in Spenard), launched Bambinos first seafood item, Hali-Halibut, in 2017 followed shortly after by a Sockeye Salmon Bisque. The pouched meals feature frozen, star-shaped portions that are perfect for baby-sized hands or for thawing into puree-style meals. Each contains the perfect balance of proteins, grains and vegetables for optimal nutritional content, she added.

The baby seafood items are among 20 Alaska-grown products that are made in Maroudas store and production facility in Anchorage.

Bambinos has resonated with some big names and won notable awards. Maroudas has been featured on the Today Show Fox News, numerous magazines, by hip hop artist Uncle Murda, and she was personally honored by both Martha Stewart (she brought her sockeye salmon) and President Trump. The Bambinos line also won the American Choice Award for Best Organic Brand and Alaskas Top Manufacturer in 2019.

Bambinos is filling a void by Americas baby food makers who continue to completely snub seafood in their protein lines, despite its proven health benefits (they offer seafood items in Asia and Europe). And that is despite the fact that starting in 2021, new federal dietary guidelines go into effect that say along with eating two portions of seafood each week, fish should be included in babies diets starting at six months old.

The omega 3s found in seafood are to a developing retina and brain what calcium is to bones. But it is not just the omega 3s, it is these great minerals that are in some cases rare in other foods. The zinc and iron and selenium and iodine...and these are just not as high as they need to be in diets that are missing seafood, said Dr. Tom Brenna, professor of pediatrics, chemistry and nutrition at the University of Texas/Austin and at Cornell University.

Bambinos is now shipped from Anchorage to customers in all 50 states and can be found at all Safeway/Carrs stores, Amazon and at Baby Vend machines at Alaska Airline terminals.

Maroudas said she doesnt strive to be the number one baby food in sales; she aims to be the best on the market. Above all, she said feeding more children with the purest Alaska ingredients is her biggest reward.

Its an absolute honor to represent our state for its quality, for its nutrition, she said. And working together with our farmers and our fishermen to create that beautiful plate as an extension of their home, for their families wherever they are, is the most humbling, most rewarding. And at nighttime. I pray that tomorrows even better for everyone around the world.

Up next for Bambinos an Alaska pollock product.

Fishing updates - Lots of fishing updates and wrap-ups continue across Alaska from Ketchikan to the far reaches of the Bering Sea. And lots of outlooks for next years fisheries are starting to trickle in from state and federal managers.

The Pacific halibut fishery for this year, for example, ended on November 15 and early estimates peg Alaskas take at just under 15 million pounds out of a 16 million pound catch limit. Results from the yearly halibut survey have raised cautious hopes for a possible uptick in some fishing regions in 2021.

Pacific halibut appears to be holding its own, with an encouraging if small indication that overall weight of Catch Per Unit of Effort (CPUE), a proxy for abundance, went up by 6% coastwide, reported Peggy Parker, executive director of the Halibut Association of North America.

CPUE refers to a standard skate of gear that is 1,800 feet long bearing 100 hooks. Of note, the total weights per skate increased by 24%.

Of note, the total weights per unit increased by 24% in the Central Gulf, the largest halibut fishing hole. The other Alaska areas did not fare as well: the WPUE at Southeast was down 5%, the Western Gulf dropped 6%, at the Aleutians, weights were down 2% near Dutch Harbor but up 3% at Adak; and the Bering Sea fishing regions increased by 8%. Coastwide, the WPUEs were up 6%.

The final halibut catch limits for next year will be revealed at the International Pacific Halibut Commission virtual meeting set for Jan. 25-29 and the fishery will open in March. The deadline to submit halibut regulatory proposals is December 26.

Homer held onto its title of Americas #1 halibut port for landings, followed by Kodiak and Juneau.

Alaskas sablefish fishery (black cod) also ended on Nov. 15 with 71% of its 31.7 million pound quota crossing the docks. Kodiak, Seward and Sitka were the top ports for landings.

Another blockbuster sockeye run is projected for Bristol Bay next summer, topping 51 million reds if projections by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game hold true. That means the fishery will average over 48 million reds annually for the past 10 years. The 2021 forecast calls for a sockeye catch of 36.35 million fish.

ADF&G also is predicting an average pink salmon harvest for Southeast Alaska next year of 28 million fish, below the 10-year average of 34 million but better than the 2019 catch of 21 million.

Meanwhile, Southeast trollers are still out on the water fishing for winter Chinook salmon.

A few areas of the Panhandle remain open for pot shrimp and the harvest had reached 540,670 pounds.

Divers also continue pulling up geoduck clams; they have also taken 1.2 million pounds of sea cucumbers out of a 1.7 million pound catch limit.

The regions Dungeness fishery is ongoing through Nov. 30 and nearly 200 crabbers have landed 6.4 million pounds in the combined summer and fall fisheries.

A sea cucumber fishery at Kodiak and the westward region has a small quota of 165,000 pounds. A herring food and bait fishery opened on Nov. 14 at Kodiak with a 319 ton limit.

The nations biggest fishery Alaska pollock just wrapped up in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska until January 20, producing over three billion pounds of the popular whitefish.

Cod fishing is mostly over for the year except for a small reopener in the Gulf on Nov. 23 for pot or jig boats. Other boats also continue to target various rockfish and flounders.

Catches for 2021 Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska fisheries will be revealed when the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meets virtually from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12.

Bering Sea crabbers have taken 99% of their 2.38 pound red king crab quota. They also are tapping on over 2 million pounds of Tanners and more than 6 million pounds of golden king crab.

Sea cuke cures Sea cucumbers have been considered a delicacy in Asian cuisine for centuries and also have been used in traditional Chinese medicine to help aid in many different health problems.

In his book Cancer: Step Outside the Box, author Ty M. Bollinger calls the spiky, slug-like creates a miracle cure for cancer.

You can cook them for various dishes, but the way its found in local health food stores is dried and powdered and in capsule form, he said, adding that dried sea cucumber extract is anti-viral, anti-bacterial and also has anti-inflammatory properties.

Another of the fascinating things about sea cucumbers is that they are very high in chondroitin sulfate, which is commonly used to treat joint pain and arthritis. To my knowledge, they have the highest concentration of chondroitin of any animal, Bollinger said in an interview.

While customers likely wont see it on the labels, he added that powdered sea cucumbers also have many cancer curing abilities based on studies over the past 15 years.

Number one, its cytotoxic, which means it kills cancer cells, and it also is immunomodulatory. So it has both sides of what I call the cancer killing coin, he explained. If you are going to defeat cancer, you need something that regulates your immune system to where it works properly but you also must have something that is going to kill those cancer cells. The sea cucumber does both.

Sea cucumber extract also is used as an adjunct treatment for those undergoing chemotherapy, Bollinger said, because its very effective at mitigating the side effects of that cancer treatment.

There are over 1,250 species of sea cucumber in the world.

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Anchorage startup aims to get more seafood into the mouths of babies - Anchorage Daily News

Energyworld

Oil & Gas 360 Publishers Note: Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, again is demonstrating that his power policies are using the balanced diet of power to include fossil and renewable sources. His leadership in power principals should be noted by other countries. He is also targeting lower carbon emissions.

The countrys energy minister was quoted in June as saying Indias oil refining capacity could jump to 450-500 million tonnes in 10 years from the current level of about 250 million tonnes.

MUMBAI: India plans to nearly double itsoil refining capacityin the next five years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, offering a much more aggressive timeline than previously despite thecoronaviruspandemic blighting the economy.

The countrys energy minister was quoted in June as saying Indias oil refining capacity could jump to 450-500 million tonnes in 10 years from the current level of about 250 million tonnes.

But addressing a petroleum universitys convocation, Modi said work is being done to nearly double the countrys oil refining capacity in the next five years.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (Photo: Prachatai/Flickr)

The convocation was also addressed virtually by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, whoseReliance IndustriesLtd operates the worlds biggest oil refinery in Modis home state of Gujarat.

Modi said India was also aiming to raise the share of natural gas in its energy-consumption mix by up to four times. The cleaner-burning fuel currently accounts for about 6% of the energy consumed in the country.

India would achieve its targets of increasingrenewable energycapacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 and 450 gigawatts by 2030 ahead of schedule, Modi added. The country had renewable energy capacity of about 75 gigawatts at the end of 2018.

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Modi says India set to double oil refining capacity in 5 years, earlier than expected - just part of the "balanced diet of power" - EnerCom...

The Mediterranean (MED) diet -- rich in olive oil, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds -- is a recommended way to reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other adverse health outcomes. But exactly how and why the MED diet lowers risk for type 2 diabetes has remained unclear. In a study conducted by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital, researchers examined outcomes for more than 25,000 participants in the Women's Health Study, a longitudinal cohort study that followed female health professionals for more than 20 years. In a paper published in JAMA Network Open, the investigators report that women who adhered to a more MED-like diet had a 30 percent lower rate of type 2 diabetes than women who did not. The team examined several biomarkers to look for biological explanations for these results, finding key mechanisms including insulin resistance, body mass index, lipoprotein metabolism and inflammation.

"Our findings support the idea that by improving their diet, people can improve their future risk of type 2 diabetes, particularly if they are overweight or have obesity," said corresponding author Samia Mora, MD, MHS, of the Brigham's divisions of Preventive Medicine and Cardiovascular Medicine and an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. "A lot of the benefit we see can be explained through just a few pathways. And it's important to note that many of these changes don't happen right away -- while metabolism can change over a short period of time, our study indicates that there are longer term changes happening that may provide protection over decades."

The Women's Health Study (WHS) enrolled female health care professionals between 1992 and 1995, collecting data through December 2017. It was designed to evaluate the effects of vitamin E and low-dose aspirin on risk of heart disease and cancer. Additionally, participants were asked to complete food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) about dietary intake when the study began and answer other questions about lifestyle, medical history, demographics and more. More than 28,000 women provided blood samples at the beginning of the trial.

Mora and colleagues leveraged data from the FFQs and blood samples to investigate the relationship between the MED diet, type 2 diabetes and biomarkers that might explain the connection. To do so, they assigned each participant a MED diet intake score from 0 to 9, with points assigned for higher intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and fish, moderate intake of alcohol, and lower intake red meat or processed meat. The team measured a range of biomarkers, including traditional ones such as cholesterol, and more specialized ones that can only be detected using nucleic magnetic resonance. These included lipoproteins -- molecules that pack and transport fats and proteins -- and measures of insulin resistance, a condition in which muscle, liver and fat cells do not respond to normal amounts of insulin. Insulin resistance is often a precursor to diabetes.

Of the more than 25,000 participants in the WHS, 2,307 developed type 2 diabetes. Participants with higher MED intake at the beginning of the study (scores greater than or equal to 6) developed diabetes at rates that were 30 percent lower than participants with lower MED intake (scores less than or equal to 3). This effect was seen only among participants with a body mass index greater than 25 (overweight or obese range) and not among participants whose BMI was less than 25 (normal or underweight).

Biomarkers of insulin resistance appeared to be the biggest contributor to lower risk, followed by biomarkers of body mass index, high-density lipoprotein measures and inflammation.

"Most of this reduced risk associated with the Mediterranean diet and type 2 diabetes was explained through the biomarkers related to insulin resistance, adiposity, lipoprotein metabolism and inflammation," said first author Shafqat Ahmad, PhD, a researcher in the Molecular Epidemiology Unit at Uppsala University, Sweden, who helped conduct the study while working at the Brigham. "This understanding may have important downstream consequences for the primary prevention of diabetes disease."

One of the strengths of the study was its length -- unlike many previous studies that have only looked at short-term effects of diets, the WHS followed participants for up to 25 years to see who developed type 2 diabetes. But the authors note several limitations, including that study participants were predominantly white and well educated, and all were female health professionals. In addition, dietary intake was self-reported and only examined at the start of the study. Biomarkers were also only measured when participants entered the study.

Mora emphasizes that insights into the biology that explains how the Mediterranean diet may help protect against diabetes could be helpful in preventive medicine and for physicians speaking to patients about dietary changes.

"Even small changes can add up over time," she said. "And there may be many biological pathways that lead to a benefit. One of the best things patients can do for future health is to improve their diet, and now we are beginning to understand why."

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Mediterranean diet tied to 30 percent risk reduction for diabetes in Women's Health Study - Science Codex