Lentils are loaded with some essential nutrients that should be a part of your diet. Here are notable health benefits of lentils you need to know.

Lentils are loaded with fibre which can help in weight loss

Lentils are a part of the legume family. These are edible seeds loaded with several health benefits. Lentils are available in different shapes, colour and texture. There is a wide variety to choose from. These are easy and quick to prepare. You can add them to your diet in several healthy and nutritious ways. Adding these to your diet can also help you maintain a healthy weight. Lentils are a blessing for vegetarians as these are an excellent plant-based source of multiple nutrients. Not just these, there is a wide variety of health benefits that lentils can offer. Here's a list of reasons why you should add lentils to your diet.

These tiny seeds are well-packed with nutrients. Lentils contain- folate, vitamin B6, iron, potassium, zinc, manganese, magnesium, carbs, fibre, calcium and much more. You can prepare these in different ways. In India, lentils are commonly used to prepare curries. These can also be added to your soups, salads and dips.

Lentils are loaded with several essential nutrientsPhoto Credit: iStock

Lentils are loaded with fibre which can help you keep full for longer. These can help you reduce your calorie consumption by keeping you satisfied for longer.

Also read:Weight Loss: Protein-Rich Pulses Can Help You Lose Weight, Here's How; Know Other Health Benefits

Several properties of lentils can help you boost heart health. These can help control bad cholesterol levels and blood pressure (potassium in lentils control blood pressure). Fibre also plays an important role in promoting heart health.

Also read:Pulses Can Control High Blood Pressure: Here's How

Fibre is also responsible for keeping your digestive tract healthy. It can ensure better bowel movement, keeping constipation at bay.

Lentils may help promote digestion and keeps constipation at bayPhoto Credit: iStock

Protein should be an essential part of your diet. It is the building block of the body. Protein also keeps you full for longer and helps you lose weight. Lentils are a good source of plant-based protein.

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Also read:3 Plant-Based Sources Of Protein And Why They Must Be A Part Of Your Daily Diet

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.

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Reasons Why You Should Add Nutrient-Dense Lentils To Your Diet: Know Impressive Health Benefits - NDTV Doctor

Is anti-ageing simply aesthetics or is there more? On the one hand, its obviously tempting to look at it from a standpoint of aesthetics alone, for after all, who doesnt want to look younger?

The right foods can fight age (Pic credit: Shutterstock)

What exactly does ageing mean? For this, let me explain the oxidative stress within the cells in your body.

Imagine if you cut an apple and leave it out in the air, allowing it to oxidise. Thats what it looks like within your body if you have high levels of oxidative stress, poor intake of antioxidants and the inability to deal with oxidative stress as you normally should.

Many nights of poor sleep or sleeping at the wrong times can instantly drop the melatonin levels in your body. Oxidative stress simply means that in the metabolic process of converting food to energy within your cells, the byproducts or free radicals are very high.

High levels of oxidative stress can slow down systems in the body as your cells are stressed. This causes you to age. It is also what makes you look old and feel old. If you think that its just age catching up, think again. It might not be.

The idea of longevity might seem something beyond your reach or just a saga from magical tales such as the existence of Shangri-La or strategies out of your reach or buried within a Himalayan cave, but this is just not true.

Here are some of the ways you can combat the rigours of time with anti-ageing foods

Orange sweet potatoes are rich in fibre (Pic credit: Shutterstock)

The first reaction I get when I mention sweet potatoes is that they belong to the "carbohydrate" group of foods. I think the word carbs is really misunderstood today. Complex carbohydrates are like super foods for your digestive system as they improve detoxification, which is the first system that needs to work amazingly well to prevent oxidative stress and ageing.

Tulsi tea is an excellent antioxidant (Pic credit: Shutterstock)

Adaptogens are compounds found in plants that can help you combat physical and mental and oxidative stress.

These are usually found in plants which have undergone some level of stress within nature, withstood these obstacles and continued to survive under the harshest situations.

Grilled salmon (Pic credit: Shutterstock)

Be it wild Alaskan salmon or local Indian salmon, fish is an anti-ageing superstar! Oily fish like salmon is loaded in omega-3 essential fatty acids which help to neutralise free radical activity, boost mitochondrial function, relieve oxidative stress and combat ageing.

Cranberries contain Vitamin C which helps fight age (Pic credit: Shutterstock)

Cranberries are usually associated with bladder health, so many people dont select it consciously. Did you know that cranberries contain specific phytonutrients called polyphenols and are very rich in Vitamin C?

In fact, they are such powerful antioxidants that they improve your overall cellular recovery and fight oxidative stress. Make sure that you find cranberries that are dried without sugar or preservatives, and add a palmful into your salad!

Add these foods to your diet and you will find out how you can be in charge of fighting age with the power of the right diet and proper nutrition.

(Images: Shutterstock)

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Never look a day older: Heres how the right diet can be the key to anti-ageing - YourStory

Kareena Kapoor Khan had the likes of dal rice and roti sabzi as her meals

Were you smitten by Kareena Kapoor Khan's pictures from one of her recent photo shoots? Well, you're definitely not alone. The actress exuded radiance and glow like never before, in her recently-released looks on Instagram. While some of it may be credited to her pregnancy glow (she recently announced that she is expecting her second baby), the other reasons behind her perfect body and glowing skin are the diet and workout regime that she followed. Talking about the same was her nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar on Instagram. "The good news is that you don't have to deprive yourself of good food to look good. Sustainable diets keep you sexy and sane," Diwekar writes in her Insta post.

The nutritionist goes on to add that the actress was eating good food and not depriving herself, around late May, and mid-June. Here's what here diet plan looked like:

1. Bebobegan her day with some soaked almonds orbanana. She used to have this around 9 or 10 am, Diwekar informs.

2. She would then used to workout (which we are going to talk later in the article).

Also read:Diet Plan For Kareena's Look In Chandigarh Mein Song, RevealedBy Her Nutritionist

3. Around 12 noon, she used to have dahi rice with papad, or chapati with paneer sabzi and dal.

4. Around 2-3 pm, a small bowl or papaya, or a handful of peanuts, or a piece of cheese or some ghee-roasted makhana would suffice.

5. The fourth meal of the day would be consumed around 5 or 6 pm. It could be a glass of mango milkshake or a bowl of litchi, or some chivda (flattened rice).

6. She used to dinner around 8 pm. It would either be vegetarian pulao with some raita, or palak or pudina roti with some boondi raita. Dal rice and sabzi was another dinner option.

7. A cup of haldi milk with some nutmeg was part of actress' nightime routine. In case she used to feel hungry at this time, she used to have a fresh fruit, or curd with raisins or cashews, or nimbu sherbet (lemon water) or nariyal pani (coconut water), or chaas (buttermilk) with kalanamak and hing.

Also read:Having Rice For Dinner? Here's What Rujuta Diwekar Has To Say About It

The aforementioned diet and workout plan is a testimony to the fact that having a meals in a balanced way and being regular at exercise, with sufficient rest days, is what you need to be fit, lose weight and have a sparkling glow on your skin!

Also read:Weight Loss: Do Long-Duration Workouts Give Better Results?

(Rujuta Diwekar is a nutritionist based in Mumbai)

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.

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Weight Loss: Here's Kareena Kapoor Khan's Diet And Exercise Regime For Her Recent Look- Her Nutritionist Gives Details - NDTV

Sixth-generation California rancher Kiah Twisselman recently told officials with the U.S. Departments of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) about her first-hand experience with the benefits of beef in her diet and urged them to do more to encourage beef as part of a healthy diet as they finalize new federal dietary guidelines. Twisselman testified on behalf of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), the nation's oldest and largest national organization representing America's cattle producers.

I know firsthand how important it is for dietary guidance to be practical, flexible, and clear, Twisselman said in a public online hearing today. Two years ago, I began my journey to better health. Ive lost over 125 pounds through small life changes, regular exercise, and a healthy diet. Ive also built a successful weight loss and life coaching business to empower others to do the same.

Twisselman urged federal officials to build on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committees (DGAC's) recommendation to include lean meat in a healthy diet by clearly identifying beef as a lean meat option and highlighting ways to achieve that recommendation by naming specific lean meat cuts like sirloin or 95% lean ground beef. She also called on officials to highlight beef as a common, readily available source for essential nutrients like iron, zinc and B-vitamins.

Lean beef is a versatile, affordable, nutrient-dense, and delicious protein source for a healthy and balanced diet. From my herd to yours, thank you for guiding Americans toward healthier diets with beef, Twisselman concluded.

Over the past two years, NCBA has worked closely with the DGAC, USDA, and HHS to keep new dietary guidelines focused on sound science and nutrition, and as a result, the final draft guidelines recognize beefs role in a healthy diet, including the essential role of beefs nutrients at every life stage. NCBA has provided extensive written and oral commentary through both the Center for Public Policy and the Beef Checkoff. NCBA, on behalf of the Beef Checkoff, submitted 21 sets of unique comments, providing over 100 research studies that comprehensively review the scientific evidence supporting the critical role beef plays in a healthy diet.

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Sixth-Generation California Rancher Shares Incredible Weight Loss Story Thanks to Beef to Dietary Guidelines Panel - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE...

Healthy eaters only! While most stars stick to balanced diets with the occasional cheat meal thrown in every now and again, there are some celebrities who are known for keeping to very strict eating regimens almost all the time, with little room for flexibility.

Take Kourtney Kardashian, for example. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star has a whole website dedicated to her healthy lifestyle and food choices and shes candid about the kinds of fare she and her family avoid. In my house, we are gluten and dairy-free, she told Health magazine in April 2020. The mom of three launched Poosh in April 2019.

Kardashian, who shares daughter Penelope and sons Mason and Reign with ex-boyfriend Scott Disick, even got into an argument with her sister Kim Kardashian over the sweets they were going to serve at Penelope and Kims daughter Norths joint Candy Land-themed birthday in June 2019.

While Kim (who ultimately won the fight) wanted traditional candies as well as ice cream, cake and more treats, Kourtney advocated for salads and healthier sweets, insisting that candy causes aging and food coloring gives people diseases.

Though Kourtney has been known to ease up on the healthy eating every so often, her family is well aware of the dietary restrictions she imposes. Kim made a veiled reference to those rules in June 2019 when she and Mason snacked on popcorn kernels and ice cream sandwiches together. When I baby sit [sic], the KKW Beauty founder captioned an Instagram photo of the duo enjoying their treats.

Another star who is a stickler for healthy eating is Jennifer Lopez, who relies on her private chef, Kelvin Fernandez, to whip up an array of nutritious meals and snacks that keep her on track.

The culinary pro told Us Weekly exclusively in April 2020 that he cooked for Lopez for an entire month prior to her February 2020 performance during the Super Bowl LIV halftime show. The cool thing about it was, that woman, when she has a goal, she has a goal. Its time to say, Kelvin, heres the diet plan. Here are the things that I want to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, he said, noting that her intense pre-show diet eliminated carbs and sugar.

Ive never had breakfast vegetables before, but this woman was having egg white scramble with vegetables three different ways and every single day, he continued. When she wants something healthy, shell stick to it.

Scroll down for more stars who stick to strict diets.

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Celebrities Who Stick to Extremely Healthy Diets: Kourtney Kardashian, Tom Brady and More - Us Weekly

Biotin-rich diet may help hair grow and stop hair fall.

Highlights

There are many factors that determine our hair health, our diet factoring in as a huge contributor. Just like our body, our hair too needs its fill of nutrients to grow and stay healthy. You may already know that proteins and calcium are one of the most important nutrients for hair growth. If you ever consult a dermatologist, they would suggest upping the intake of biotin too. Biotin is a B vitamin, which is known to convert ingested foods into energy. But, since it is a water-soluble vitamin, it is difficult to retain in the body and we need to replenish it regularly.

There's a host of biotin supplements flying off the shelves of medical stores but there's nothing like getting our diet do the job naturally. So, if you are serious about putting an end to that dreadful hair loss and help your mane grow into healthy and gorgeous tresses, include these biotin-rich foods to your daily diet.

Milk, cheese, curd - all dairy products contain a good amount of biotin. These foods should be consumed on a daily basis for good health and great hair.

(Also Read:Monsoon Hair Fall: 5 Foods You Must Include In Your Diet)

All dairy products are good for hair health.

2. Spinach

We all know that spinach is a powerhouse of protein and iron; you may not know that this green leafy vegetable is a good source of biotin too. So, keep having palak paneer, dal palak and other Indian dishes or include spinach in your breakfast recipes like omelettes and baked eggs.

3. Egg Yolks

If you tend to discard egg yolks to eat egg whites only, stop now! Egg yolks contain many important nutrients including protein and biotin. Just make sure not to over-consume them. One whole egg including yolk provides 10 mcg Biotin, according to the data provided by International Food Information Council Foundation.

4. Nuts And Seeds

We can't stress enough the importance of having nuts and seeds daily. Along with so many health benefits, these foods also help with maintaining hair health. Add almonds, walnuts, peanuts and sunflower seeds to your salads, smoothies and desserts or eat them raw as snacks.

(Also Read:7 Foods for Hair Growth You Should Be Eating Daily)

Nuts and seeds are rich source of B vitamins.

5. Salmon

The pink coloured fish is rich in omega-3 fatty acids as well as biotin. Salmon offers many properties for overall well-being and beautiful, long hair. According to International Food Information Council Foundation, 3 ounces of salmon contains 5 mcg biotin per serving.

Get heavy, healthy hair you always dreamt of. Enrich your diet with these biotin-rich foods.

About Neha GroverLove for reading roused her writing instincts. Neha is guilty of having a deep-set fixation with anything caffeinated. When she is not pouring out her nest of thoughts onto the screen, you can see her reading while sipping on coffee.

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Healthy Hair Diet: 5 Biotin-Rich Foods That May Stop Hair Fall And Help Them Grow - NDTV Food

Add these 5 vitamin C-rich foods to your diet to boost your immunity, reduce risk of coronavirus infection  |  Photo Credit: iStock Images

New Delhi: Eating a diet rich in vitamin C can help boost your immune system and protect your cells against damage. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble that's involved in many bodily functions, including the formation and maintenance of bones, skin and blood vessels. This essential vitaminalso promotes wound healing. Adding vitamin C-rich foods to your diet may be one of the best ways to improve your immunity, which can help prevent and fight infections such as COVID-19.

But, not sure which foods are high in vitamin C? Here are some of the foods richest in vitamin Cand how you can include them in your daily diet to ensure that youre getting enough of this antioxidant super-nutrient.

Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purpose only and should not be construed as professional medical advice. Always consult your doctor or a dietician before starting any fitness programme or making any changes to your diet.

For full coverage on Coronavirus pandemic, click here.Join the Times Group initiative #MaskIndia.Share a picture with your home-made mask on your social handles using #MaskIndia. The best picture will be featured in TOI and on maskindia.com

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Add these 5 vitamin C-rich foods to your diet to boost your immunity, reduce risk of coronavirus infection - Times Now

Sugar is also very present in foods that we dont consider to be sweet such as soups, sauces and ready meals.

A third of an average-sized jar of pasta sauce (roughly 150g) can contain more than 13g of sugar, including added sugar.

This is the equivalent of around three teaspoons of sugar.

It is well known that eating sugary foods significantly raises your blood sugar levels which can cause serious harm to your body, including weight gain.

Prolonged elevated blood sugar leads to weight gain because it promotes insulin resistance.

Healthline says: Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that moves sugar from your blood into cells, where it can be used for energy.

Insulin resistance is when your cells stop responded properly to insulin, which leads to elevated sugar and insulin levels.

Foods and beverages that are packed with added sugar, such as cakes, ice cream and fizzy drinks tend to be low in or completely lacking in protein, a nutrient essential for blood sugar control that promotes feelings of fullness.

This means that you will often feel hungry after consuming junk food which will lead to overeating and weight gain.

It isnt advised to completely cut this food group out of your diet if youre looking for long-term weight loss but cutting down gradually will be beneficial.

The NHS recommends opting for healthier snack options without added sugar including fruit, unsalted nuts, unsalted rice cakes and plain popcorn.

The website says: If you're not ready to give up your favourite flavours, you could start by having less. Instead of 2 biscuits in 1 sitting, try having 1. If your snack has 2 bars, have 1 and share the other, or save it for another day.

Dried fruit like raisins, dates and apricots are high in sugar and although this is natural it is recommended to keep these types of snacks to a minimum.

One of the worst types of beverages you can drink when on a weight loss journey is fizzy drinks.

A 500ml bottle of cola contains the equivalent of 17 cubes of sugar.

There are now sugar free alternatives on the market or try swapping this for squash which has less sugar in it.

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Weight loss: Cutting this one food out of your diet could be the key to losing weight - Express

Did you know that every five years the federal government, along with input from a committee of health and policy experts, puts out updated nutrition guidelines for the nation? Right now, the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans are in the final stages of being released. The Dietary Guidelines provide evidenced-based nutrition recommendations for individuals two years and older to make healthy choices about food and drink every day. Unlike fad diets that are all about short-term food restriction, these guidelines focus on informing the overall eating patterns of Americans, building upon the previous five years of scientific research.

Just last month an 835-page report by the 20-person expert advisory committee was published laying the foundation for these new guidelines. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services will use this report to develop the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans to be released by the end of the year.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans have always evoked some controversy surrounding the focus on whats needed for Americans to achieve better health through food and nutrition. This time around there were requests to extend the committees deadline due to time constraints posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and to be able to include a wider range of research. However, the report has been published and here are some of the main areas that are different than what weve seen in the past:

No solid evidence on meal frequency and timing.

While intermittent fasting and eating five small meals a day have grown in popularity as alternatives to the traditional three meals per day, there is not enough science to recommend one pattern over others. At the same time, it does appear that diet quality is better in those who eat three times a day compared to just two times. Also, late-night eating is often associated with poorer food choices.

Moderate alcohol intake for men gets downsized.

Previous versions of the Dietary Guidelines defined moderate alcohol intake as one drink per day for women and one to two drinks per day for men. This latest report reduces the recommendation to just one drink per day for both men and women. Plus, the report fails to mention any potential benefits of moderate alcohol consumption, which have been alluded to in past guidelines.

Infant feeding and the role of reducing food allergies later in life.

Landmark food allergy studies published over the past decade or so have led to a significant change in the understanding of how to reduce the risk of food allergies. It is likely that the role of early introduction of peanuts and eggs during the first year of life in reducing food allergies will now be included in the new Dietary Guidelines.

We should be eating even less sugar than we thought.

While the 2015 Dietary Guidelines recommended keeping daily added sugar intake to no more than 10 percent of calories, the newest recommendations support reducing daily sugar limits to under 7 percent. Considering most Americans get about 13 percent of their calories from added sugars from items like sugar-sweetened drinks, breakfast cereal and candy, we can benefit by cutting this sugar intake in half. The new inclusion of theAdded Sugarsline on the Nutrition Facts Food Label can help us choose foods with less added sugar.

Connecting food choices with environmental health.

While the primary focus of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is on improving eating patterns for better health outcomes, the reports authors would like to see environmental sustainability included in the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Public comments called for the evaluation of the social and ecological effects of dietary recommendations. Ultimately, food manufacturing and production has an environmental impact that cannot be separated from nutrition advice. Only time will tell if sustainability will be included in the highly anticipated Dietary Guidelines.

LeeAnn Weintraub, MPH, RD is a registered dietitian, providingnutritioncounseling and consulting to individuals, families and organizations. She can be reached by email atRD@halfacup.com.

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New dietary guidelines are coming: What you need to know about health, nutrition and sugar intake - LA Daily News

Although it is obvious that food is vital to onessurvival, many people are unawarehow single compounds found in foods could impact diseaseand mortality.Leading health experts and researchers recommend a diet which is rich in polyphenols to help boost longevity and reducetherisk of diseases.

New research on polyphenols shows they can help microorganisms in the digestive system, and may extend oneslifespan too.

Polyphenols, a type of antioxidant, have recently been in the spotlight as researchers uncover the health benefits of eating polyphenol-rich foods.

Newfindingsfrom the New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Ltd. show that polyphenolswhich give colour to fruits and vegetables and are also found in coffee, tea, nuts, and legumescan break down into molecules that help beneficial microorganisms found in the digestive system.

In short, they can support gut health, which is increasingly being recognized as vital to our overall well-being.

READ MORE:Coronavirus: Health experts warn to stay away from this diet it will not protect you

In a study published in Alpha Galileo, a diet high in polyphenols and its association with longevity was investigated.

The study noted: It is the first time that a scientific study associates high polyphenols intake with a 30 percent reduction in mortality in older adults.

The research, published onJournal of Nutrition, is the first to evaluate the total dietary polyphenol intake by using a nutritional biomarker and not only a food frequency questionnaire.

Researchers found that people who took in 650 mg per day experienced a 30 percent lower mortality rate than those who took in less than 500 mg per day.

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Professor Cristina Andrs Lacueva, head of the Biomarkers and Nutritional & Food Metabolomics Research Group of the UB and coordinator of the study said: The development and use of nutritional biomarkers enables to make a more precise and, particularly, more objective estimation of intake as it is not only based on participants memory when answering questionnaire.

Nutritional biomarkers take into account bioavailability and individual differences.

This methodology makes a more reliable and accurate evaluation of the association between food intake and mortality or disease risk.

Increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables is the best way to bolster your daily intake of these health-promoting compounds, said Dr. Charlie Seltzer, a Philadelphia-based physician who specializes in anti-aging treatments.

He continued: The outer layers of many fruits and vegetables contain the highest concentrations of polyphenols, so don't peel off the skin before you eat them.

Another way to get more polyphenols from fruit is to consume them before they ripen, because polyphenol activity lessens as fruit ages.

A study showed that freeze-drying fruit,as opposed to chilling it,preserves 80 percent of its antioxidants, including polyphenols.

Polyphenolsorpolyphenolrich diets provide significantprotection againstthe development and progression of many chronic pathological conditions including cancer, diabetes, cardio-vascular problems and aging.

Polyphenol foods are known to help boost longevity and fruits with high levels of polyphenols include black chokeberries, black elderberries, strawberries, red raspberries, blueberries, plums, andblackcurrants.

Cocoa powder, dark chocolate, coffee, tea, and flaxseed are also high in polyphenols.

When it comes to herbs and seasonings withhighlevels of polyphenols, the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition recommends cloves, dried peppermint, and star anise.

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How to live longer: The foods proven to prevent cardiovascular disease and boost longevity - Express