The next instalment of Delphi Banks Delphi Connect online series has been released online and this month it draws special focus on Breast Cancer Awareness with its Pink Ribbon Edition interview with Dr Catherine Itsiopoulos who spoke about the benefits of the Mediterranean diet.

The Head of School, School of Allied Health at LaTrobe University. Dr Itsiopoulos spoke to Paul Orfanos, Delphi Banks National Community Engagement Manager about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet of which she is an acknowledged expert.

Dr Itsiopoulos said that the first study on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet was conducted in the 1950s by American physiologist Ancel Keys who identified saturated fat as a major cause of heart disease.

She said the Mediterranean diet was not a complicated one to follow and was beneficial to sufferers of a range of diseases from diabetes, to heart disease and even helping in the reversal of anxiety and depression.

She said studies in Europe and Australia had shown that the Mediterranean diet had contributed to a 30 percent reduction in heart disease, 55 percent reduction in risk of diabetes. It could also prevent secondary heart disease.

She said it did not matter if the diet was adopted late in life but that the benefits were apparent.

A PhD study by Katherine Sarafis of La Trobe University shows that if only extra virgin olive oil was included, we can see significant changes in blood pressure in as a little as a few weeks time. Just with olive oil we can see significant cardio vascular benefits.

The key elements of the Mediterranean included the use of extra virgin olive oil, plain food at every meal that included fresh vegetables, such as tomato onion, herbs and fruit as well as whole grain, sour dough breads. Other elements of the diet included fish, wine in moderation, two vegetable dishes a week.

Regular physical activity, adequate rest, conviviality -eating socially with friends and family and eating foods that are in season were other factors that went with the diet, she said.

Dr Itsiopoulos said her focus on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet had begun 20 years ago with her PhD study of the effect of the diet on Anglo-Celt patients with Type-2 diabetes.

They ate traditional Cretan food prepared by my mother and the mothers of colleagues. Within three months the diabetes was brought under control, there was weight loss, their skin improved and their energy levels increased.

READ MORE: How the Mediterranean diet became No 1 and why thats a problem

She found in her studies that a Mediterranean diet also produces a 40 percent reduction of fatty liver which, in turn, reduces the risk of contracting diabetes. There was no reduction in fatty liver for those who followed a low-fat diet alone.

Her researches took her to Icaria which, along with Sardinia, has a very long living population the highest concentration of people over 95 years of age in the world.

I interviewed people who were in their late 90s and 100s and they said they consumed a very plain diet of locally grown foods that included lots of edible greens, legumes and fruit. They produced their own olive oil, wine and honey. They also had free-roaming meat in their diet including goats which ate the local vegetation.

They were very sociable there were over 100 festivals. The island is very mountainous with few roads and they walked everywhere. It is also very important to have a purpose in life.

One of the key benefits of the diet was that it was generally easy and quick to prepare in the case of salads or simple dishes such as fasolatha. Which meant they were easy to prepare after a days work.

You can add fish, some tomato, garlic and fresh parsley with olive oil to cook in the oven with sweet potatoes to be ready in 45 minutes. The more complicated dishes, such as moussaka, you can prepare during the weekend and store in the freezer.

She said there were Ten Commandments to follow in a Mediterranean diet. She said the following the first three principles could be sufficient but not ideal and these included: Using Extra Virigin Olive Oil as the main fat, using vegetables and salads to accompany every main meal and eating legumes twice a week.

To view Dr Itsiopoulos talk on the Mediterranean Die click on the LinkedIn site for the talk or click on the YouTube link. For more information on breast cancer awaress click on the Breast Cancer Foundation link.

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Leading dietitian expounds on health benefits of the Mediterranean diet - Neos Kosmos

With so many people trying to get into shape, they often decide to concentrate their efforts into just one area. Some choose to exercise every day thinking that because they work-out, they can eat whatever they like. Others restrict their diet believing that their health is based only on what they eat. The truth is, you need to dedicate time to both. If this sounds overwhelming, you'll soon realize that fitness and good food go together hand-in-hand. Here are six reasons why you must combine diet and exercise together for the best results.

In order to keep a healthy body, you need the proper vitamins and minerals, that's just basic nutrition. However, with the exception of vitamin D, you can only accomplish this through your diet. The easiest way to get the vitamins you need is through whole foods, supplements and Thrive. What is Thrive? It's an easy-to-use patch that provides nutrients to busy people who may not have enough time to fit all their meals into one day.

Building muscle is vital to your body for a variety of reasons. First, it increases your strength, but that's not all. Lean muscle also turns your body into a fat-burning machine. Your muscle mass raises your metabolism and, as you know, a higher metabolism helps you burn fat and lose weight. Muscle also helps strengthen your bones so you can avoid injuries. If you were to only focus on diet and not fitness, you'd miss the important benefits that come from strong muscles.

Lowering your cholesterol is something you can achieve through both diet and exercise. Decreasing the amount of saturated fats you consume from meat, eggs and dairy will help you get your LDL, or bad cholesterol, down. Increasing your fruits, vegetables and whole grains will help you to raise your HDL, or good cholesterol. Exercise can help, too, because it allows you to control your weight. When you weigh less, your cholesterol drops and so do your triglycerides which are another type of fat in the blood.

Balance is part of almost everything you do like walking, running and maintaining good posture. As people age, they're at an increased risk for falls and practicing balance exercises will help. When you perform balance training, you work on your core muscles that strengthen your back, keep your movements stable and help you avoid nasty tumbles. It's never too late to incorporate balance into your life through yoga or by doing stretches. Balance is yet another reason you need fitness in your life, even if you eat well.

If you exercise regularly, you need to offset it with proper hydration. Drinking water and eating a healthy diet are both needed to accomplish this. Staying properly hydrated helps cleanse the body, keeps your skin soft and supple and helps with weight loss. Aim to get enough water throughout the day and supplement with hydrating foods like cucumbers, watermelon, tomatoes and zucchini. Steer clear of things that hinder hydration such as excess caffeine and high-sodium foods.

By keeping your body flexible, you can avoid injuries throughout your life. The best way to stay flexible is by remembering to stretch every time you exercise. If you do cardio, or aerobic exercises, make sure to do stretches following your workout, but not before. Muscles should be lengthened and stretched while they're warm, not cold. Other exercises that promote flexibility are tai chi, yoga and use of an elastic stretch band.

If you've heard that you only need to concentrate on your diet, or exercise alone, remember that both are necessary. Doing one without the other cuts out important benefits such as building muscle, getting adequate nutrition and improving your flexibility. By making small changes at first, you'll discover how well fitness and eating nutritious food complement each other to give you a healthy body and increased strength.

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Reasons You Need To Combine Both Exercise and Diet - Teton Gravity Research

'If it fits your macros' (IIFYM) has become a common phrase among cross-fitters, bodybuilders and some people on a weight loss journey. But is counting macros helpful for plant-based eaters? Like most things in the nutrition world, the answer is...it depends. Before delving into the pros and cons of macro counting, lets talk a little about the term macros.

Macros is short for macronutrients, otherwise known as large nutrients. There are four macronutrients--carbohydrates, protein, fat, and alcohol-- and their main purpose is to provide energy to the body. Carbohydrates and protein contain 4 calories per gram, fat has 9 calories per gram and alcohol has 7 calories per gram. Generally, the recommendation is to eat 45-60% of calories from carbs, 15-25% of calories from protein, and 20-30% of calories from fat.

Those who track macros use their body weight and nutrition goals (to lose weight, gain muscle, etc.) to come up with an ideal daily macro ratio. A person who hopes to build muscle mass may choose to eat a higher percentage of protein than an endurance athlete, who focuses on carbs. A macro tracking diet usually starts with a certain number of carbs or protein and then determines the remaining macros from there. Before jumping feet first into tracking macros, consider the pros and cons.

There are benefits to macro counting, such as:

While some may find macro counting beneficial, here are some downsides to tracking everything you eat.

Obviously, there are pros and cons to macro tracking. It may be a useful tool for very dedicated people who wants to get a handle on the number of carbs, protein, and fat they eat every day. That said, tracking everything you eat is not sustainable for years on end. Also, without the help of a nutrition professional, you may choose a macro range that isnt ideal for you. If you want to track your macros, seek out the advice of a Registered Dietitian to do it safely and efficiently.

So often people focus on macronutrients and overlook micronutrients. Otherwise known as the small nutrients, micronutrients consist of over 30 essential vitamins and minerals. There are many more micronutrients than macronutrients, and they all have varying levels of recommended intake.

Some micros, like Vitamin C and Vitamin A, are easy to get in large quantities, while others, like Vitamin D and Zinc, arent in as many foods. The best way to ensure youre getting plenty of micronutrients on a daily basis is to eat a varied and well-balanced diet with plenty of colors. Because some nutrients are more prevalent in animal products, vegans sometimes miss out on Iron, Calcium, Vitamin B12, and Vitamin D. If youre concerned about your micronutrient intake, ask your doctor to do a simple blood draw to see if youre deficient.

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Ask the Expert: Should I Be Counting Macros on My Plant-Based Diet? - The Beet

Diwali is that time of the year when you cannot say no to sweets. There are a variety of delicious sweets available in the market that have the power of pleasing your taste buds in no time. But, if you have been on a restricted diet for long, it is a hard choice to let all your efforts go in vain by consuming regular sweets. To avoid that, you can go for diet-friendly Diwali sweets that will let you enjoy your favourite sweets without breaking your diet plan.

Whether you want to buy diet-friendly sweets for your home or for gifting someone this Diwali, we have got you covered. Here is a list of some popular options that you can consider buying instead of regular Diwali sweets:-

Get it here.

Get the pack here.

Get this box for gifting here.

You can get this box of sweets here.

Get this tin of 500 gm here.

You can get this box here.

Get it here.

You can order this box online from here.

You can buy this box of 200 gm of barfi here.

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Diwali sweets for diet-conscious people: 10 boxes of sweets that are diet-friendly - Times of India

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A new study conducted by the University of Oxford has found that a switch towards plant-based diets is vital to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. It follows on from a previous study by the university, which found that eating a vegan diet could reduce our carbon footprint by 73%.

The study, published by the journal Science, found that emissions from the food industry will make it impossible to limit global warming to 1.5 or even 2C if nothing is changed. According to the researchers, even stopping all fossil fuel emissions completely wouldnt allow us to meet this target.

While reducing fossil fuel use is very important, radical changes in the food system will be essential to avoid flooding, droughts, extreme weather, rising sea levels, and other consequences of climate change.

The researchers believe that the 1.5C target will be exceeded in just 30-45 years without a change in dietary habits. They point out that a shift towards plant-based diets would not only benefit the planet, but also help to tackle chronic diseases, water pollution, and loss of biodiversity.

Many other studies have raised the alarm about the impact of our dietary choices, including a warning last year backed by 11,000 scientists. A 2018 study also found that plant-based diets are important for controlling climate change.

However, the change may not be straightforward as it will require coordination between various sectors and governments.

Discussions on mitigating climate change typically focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, for instance, from transportation or energy production, researcher Dr. Michael Clark told Plant Based News. However, our research emphasizes the importance of reducing emissions from the global food system. The most important is for individuals to shift towards predominantly plant-based diets.

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Study: Switch to Plant-Based Diets is "Most Important" Way to Fight Climate Change - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine

Lucy Spraggan has shared her incredible body transformation while taking aim at "life threatening fad diets".

The 29-year-old former X Factor star has shared before and after pics on Instagram which shows how her fitness journey has taken her to washboard abs and a sensational toned body.

The singer has dropped three dress sizes in the process and showed off the evidence in a mirror selfie on social media, with her posing in a green sports bra and black Nike leggings.

In a second photo, Lucy is seen lifting her white t-shirt to reveal an impressive muscular frame and washboard abs.

In a lengthy caption, Lucy said that in 2018 she had already lost "quite a bit of body fat" but this had been done through 'fad diets' which she said were "experimental, inconsistent" and "actually life threatening".

She has since looked for "slow and tiny" changes and the results have been impressive.

Lucy explained on Instagram: "Found the pic on the left whilst scrolling through some old photos and it gave me some feelings! Good ones!

"I'd already started my journey to a different body composition here but I didn't really know it.

"I'd already lost quite a bit of body fat (left picture is from 2018) through various experimental and inconsistent (one actually life threatening!) FAD diets and I was noticing really small changes that I don't think anyone else would have been able to see."

The singer continued: "And that is one of the hardest parts of working hard = tiny, weeny, subtle changes.

"When I look at the left picture in contrast to the right I can SEE the change, it's a huge reward to know that I did that, it feels great!"

She warned her followers that the way she exercised meant that there were no instant results.

Lucy continued: "But on almost every other part of this slog it's been exhausting at times because results are so SLOW and tiny.

"But that is the truth of it. That's the bare bones of anything worth doing in life.

"We keep plugging at it, we keep pushing, we have to accept that to eventually notice that HUGE change we have to chip away at the rock bit by bit until you seen see the first sparkle of that lil diamond."

She continued to compare her body journey to her singing career: "7 years ago I was playing to crowds of 200 every night. Last year we sold 37,000 tickets just in the UK.

"When the world is back on track, I'll double that. I've done it before!

"I will keep digging, in everything I do. Work, life, love, family... everything.

"So that eventually I can look back and say: I did that.

"Happy Sunday. Keep digging."

Lucy has overhauled her lifestyle since splitting from her ex-wife Georgina Gordon and speaking on FUBAR Radio in October, she said that she had "rediscovered herself" after she "lost a bit of weight and had a divorce".

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033.

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Lucy Spraggan shows washboard abs after incredible transformation and slams diets - Mirror Online

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We must switch to a predominantly plant-based diet to save the planet, saysnew researchfrom an international team led by the University of Oxford.

The journalScience published the paper. It reveals that slashing our use of fossil fuel use is essential to meet global climate targets. But is not enough unless we also transform the global food system.

In fact, scientists say, even if fossil fuel emissions stop immediately, emissions from the global food system alone could increase global temperatures by more than 1.5C.

TheParis Climate Agreement goal is to limit the increase in global temperature to 1.5C or 2C above pre-industrial levels. Global temperature increases beyond this will lead to extreme heatwaves, flooding, water scarcity, and more.

We must change what we eat, how much we eat and how much is wasted by 2050. In addition, we must change how food is produced.

It adds if we continue with current trends, emissions from food systems would surpass the 1.5C target within 30-45 years. In fact, they may exceed the 2C target within 90 years, even if all other sources of greenhouse gas emissions immediately stopped.

If other sources of greenhouse gas emissions reached zero by 2050, we would surpass the 1.5C target in 10-20 years and, in addition, the 2C target by the end of the century.

The research makes clear that reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food systems will require coordinated action. Across sectors and between national governments.

However, the changes would have additional benefits. For example, reducing water pollution and scarcity. Also increasing biodiversity, and reducing the rate of diet-related health conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Dr. Michael Clarkis fromThe Oxford Martin Schooland Nuffield Department of Population Health. In a statement sent toPBN, he said: Discussions on mitigating climate change typically focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, for instance, from transportation or energy production.

However, our research emphasizes the importance of reducing emissions from the global food system.

He added that there are are many achievable ways rapidly to reduce food emissions if we act on them quickly. These include raising crop yields and reducing food loss and waste.

But, he concluded: The most important is for individuals to shift towards predominantly plant-based diets.

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Public Must Switch To Predominantly Plant-Based Diet To Save Planet, Says New Research - Plant Based News

In this episode of #QuickTakesWithBangaloreTimes celebrity fitness trainer Yasmin Karachiwala talks about keeping the festive ill-health in check by sharing a few tips to remember." "Simple lifestyle moderations can help you look your best this festive season. Gaining weight in on the rise and it is quite common to gain a few pounds but we need to remember that food is the essence of life and we should respect that," says Yasmin. She shares her five tips.Watch those snacksWhile it might be tough to fight the temptation, but the best thing would be to make informed food choices by consuming healthier snacking options like almonds which contain Riboflavin, Magnesium, Protein, Vitamin E and zinc that contribute to a healthy diet. It would also satiate your cravings.Eat SmartTry to limit those fried food and unhealthy food options and instead pick up those veggies, fresh fruits and lean proteins.Make Smart food choicesI do not believe in the word diet but rather I focus on encouraging my clients to make smart food choices to make healthy food choices leading to a healthier lifestyle. We must make efforts to stay healthy and ensure good nutrition. Fitness firstApart from the above mentioned modifications. One also need to give fitness a chance. Life will get stressful and busy, but do not compromise on your health. Take on any challenge and push yourself to exercise for at least thirty minutes every day. Also, motivate those around you.

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Celebrity fitness instructor Yasmin Karachiwala shares diet tips on keeping healthy this festive season - Times of India

Eating lots of foods with flavanols antioxidants found in certain fruits, veggies, tea, and cocoa may be good for your blood pressure, according to a study published in October 2020 in Scientific Reports.

Researchers examined data on blood pressure and cardiovascular disease as well as results from urine tests, looking for biomarkers of flavan-3-ol a substance that indicates how much flavanol is in the diet for more than 25,000 adults in the U.K.

Systolic blood pressure the top number, which shows how much pressure blood exerts on artery walls when the heart beats was about 1.9 millimeters of mercury (mmHG) lower in men and about 2.5 mmHG lower in women with the highest flavanol intake than it was among their counterparts with the lowest flavanol intake.

Differences in blood pressure associated with a high-flavanol diet were more pronounced in older adults and in people diagnosed with hypertension than in younger individuals and those with normal blood pressure, the study also found.

Our study shows for the first time that flavanols consumed as part of the normal diet are associated with lower blood pressure, says senior study author Gunter Kuhnle of the department of food and nutritional sciences at the University of Reading in the U.K.

One advantage of this study is that it used urine tests to estimate how much flavonal people had in their diets many other studies looking at health benefits of various eating patterns rely instead on food diaries or surveys that arent always an accurate picture of how people really eat, Kuhnle and colleagues write. In those cases, people often report healthier eating habits than they really have.

Another strength of using biomarkers instead of self-reported dietary information is that the amount of flavanols in a particular food or drink can vary. For example, there can be anywhere from 10 to 330 milligrams (mg) of flavanols in 100 grams (g) of tea, the researchers point out.

Using nutritional biomarkers to estimate the intake of bioactive food compounds has long been seen as the gold standard for research, as it allows intake to be measured objectively, Kuhnle says.

The biggest limitation of the study is that results from this study in the U.K. where tea is the main source of dietary flavanols may not reflect what would happen in other populations where people tend to favor different foods and beverages.

An additional limitation is that researchers looked at urine tests for flavanol intake at only a single point in time, and its possible that eating habits changed over time in ways that might impact blood pressure or cardiovascular disease risk, the researchers point out.

Its also worth noting that the study was funded by candymaker Mars Inc., where two of the authors work.

Earlier studies have found flavanols may help reduce stiffness in arteries, cholesterol, blood pressure, and the risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease, according to a review published in June 2018 in Molecular Aspects of Medicine. In particular, this review linked flavanols in cocoa and tea with these heart-healthy benefits.

The blood pressure reduction seen with flavanols in the current study is comparable to what some earlier research found with two heart-healthy diets, the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, Kuhnle says.

A Mediterranean diet emphasizes consumption of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts, and olive oil and other healthy fats, according to the Mayo Clinic. It also advises dairy in moderation, and limited red and processed meats. The DASH diet takes these ideas further, by recommending the number of servings per week for different foods and limiting sodium intake.

One study, published in 2013 in BMC Medicine, found that following a Mediterranean diet reduced diastolic blood pressure the bottom number, which indicates how much pressure blood exerts on artery walls when the heart rests between beats by 1.5 mmHg. This trial didnt find a connection between the Mediterranean diet and systolic blood pressure, however.

An older study, from the New England Journal of Medicine, found that when people tried to cut their sodium intake to the lowest level possible, following a DASH diet reduced systolic blood pressure more than eating in other ways by 11.5 mmHg more for people with hypertension and by 7.1 mmHg more for people without hypertension. When people tried to reduce sodium intake from high levels to intermediate levels, the DASH diet reduced systolic blood pressure by 2.1 mmHg.

A sustained 2 mmHg reduction in blood pressure would have a large benefit on a population level so from a public health perspective, that is a meaningful number, says Deepak Bhatt, MD, MPH, executive director of interventional cardiovascular programs at Brigham and Womens Hospital Heart & Vascular Center and a professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

However, for an individual, that would be less than what some people will experience with salt restriction or specifically with the Mediterranean or DASH diets, says Dr. Bhatt, who wasnt involved in the new flavanol study.

Flavanols are part of a large family of compounds found in plants such as fruit, vegetables, beans, grains, and nuts, says Samantha Heller, RD, a senior clinical nutritionist at NYU Langone Health in New York City, who wasnt involved in the current study.

In foods, these compounds have been found to confer many health benefits, including reducing the risk of certain diseases like cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and certain cancers, Heller says. They act as powerful antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents.

To get the benefits of flavanols from sources such as cocoa and tea, its best to have unprocessed forms without lots of added sugar, cream, and other additives, Heller advises. This is especially true for cocoa and chocolate.

People who want to use diet to help lower their blood pressure should think of increasing flavanols as part of an overall healthy eating pattern, Heller advises.

We eat foods, not single nutrients, and it is important to note that our dietary patterns play a big role in our intake of flavanols and other healthy plant compounds, Heller says. Adopting the DASH or Mediterranean dietary pattern is a great way of increasing ones intake of flavanols as well as fiber, vitamins, minerals, and other healthy plant chemicals, and to help reduce blood pressure and the risk of other chronic diseases.

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High-Flavanol Diet Linked to Lower Blood Pressure - Everyday Health

The long-lasting Abe administration set another record: the most no comments uttered in the Diet.

Keita Sakurai, an associate professor of social welfare at Ritsumeikan University, was disturbed by the trend of Cabinet members and government bureaucrats refusing to answer tough questions from opposition lawmakers in recent years.

So he went to the trouble of counting exactly how many times the phrase, I want to refrain from replying, was used in the Diet.

The expression was uttered more than 300 times annually during the final five years of the Abe administration, by far more than any other administration. In particular, the count topped 500 a year between 2017 and 2019, according to Sakurai.

He posted his findings in an Oct. 29 tweet with a graphic showing the frequency of the expression used during Diet sessions from 1970 to 2020. The graphic was titled, A nation that would not answer even when questions are asked.

I have been wondering when the Diet turned into a place where legislators and bureaucrats are allowed to give no answers, so I produced the graphic, he said. The trend of the past few years is abnormal.

His tweet was retweeted about 10,000 times and received more than 13,000 likes.

Sakurai used the free public system to search the records of Diet proceedings. The database keeps all digitized data on remarks by lawmakers and bureaucrats at plenary sessions and committee meetings dating from the first postwar Diet session in May 1947.

Sakurai was familiar with the system because he had previously used it for research in his field. It took him only half a day to tally the count.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe used the expression on 165 occasions, the most in his Cabinet, when he set a longevity record in office from Dec. 26, 2012, to Sept. 16 this year.

He was followed by Masako Mori, former justice minister, who declined to answer questions in the Diet on 94 occasions, Tomomi Inada, former defense minister, at 87 times, and Taro Kono, former foreign minister, on 78 occasions.

Sakurai believes the unprecedented nonresponse trend stems from a raft of scandals involving the Abe administration. Opposition lawmakers peppered Abe with questions about suspected favorable treatment to the Moritomo Gakuen school operator, the Kake Educational Institution and his supporters at the taxpayer-funded cherry blossom viewing gatherings.

But Sakurai added that his research showed that Cabinet members and government bureaucrats snubbed questions in all policy issues, not just the subjects related to the scandals.

It was contrary to my expectations, he said. I believe that a growing number of politicians and bureaucrats have begun picking up the habit of refusing to answer questions since the Abe administration was formed. It amounts to disrespect for people, rather than the Diet.Sakurai fears that such an attitude has been spilling into society.

His research did not cover Yoshihide Suga as prime minister.

But Sakurai said Suga has already demonstrated a potential for clamming up. As prime minister, Suga said, I want to refrain from replying, during the first question and answer session with heads of opposition parties late last month.

I am closely watching how Suga will behave, Sakurai said.

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Refusal to answer questions in Diet soared in Abe government : The Asahi Shimbun - Asahi Shimbun