Most of us know that Vitamin D is essential to maintain the health of our bones. However, most of us arent aware that this amazing Vitamin has a crucial role to play in our immune system!

What is Vitamin D

Vitamin D belongs to class of fat-soluble vitamins and was first discovered along with many other vitamins in the 1920s. Unlike other Vitamins that have rich nutritional sources and can be used as such when we consume them, Vitamin D is found in limited food sources and even when ingested needs to be changed to an active form for the body to use it effectively. It is one of the only vitamins that our body produces. Vitamin D that we either ingest or produce using the UV rays from the sun passes through the liver and kidneys where it is activated. The cells of our immune system also have the capability to activate Vitamin D when needed. Essentially in many ways Vitamin D acts like a hormone!

Immune boosting effects:

The immune system forms an essential defense mechanism of the human body against invading viruses, bacteria and other foreign organisms,hence providing protection.

The last decade has seen a lot of research that has brought to light the role of Vitamin D the optimal functioning of the immune system. Receptors known as Vitamin D receptors (VDR) have been foundon various cells other than those in the bone and gut proving that this Vitamin does a lot more than improving bone health. These receptors have been found in the bone marrow, breast, colon and immune cells too.

Studies have made it clear that adequate levels of Vitamin D in the body confers better immunity against viruses such as the influenza virus and viruses and bacteria that cause upper respiratory infections leading to less sick days. These viruses and bacteria upon entry in our body are confronted by cells called macrophages which in simple terms swallow the microbes and destroy them. This destruction of microbes is enhanced by the activity of vitamin D. It has also been shown that Vitamin has a protective effect in many conditions like pneumonia and ARDS.

In addition, it is becoming increasingly clear that adequate levels of Vitamin D are also essential for slowing the progression of autoimmune diseases (these happen when our immune system appears to attack our own cells) like Rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease etc.

Vitamin D sources:

Get more Sun: with the mantra of the day being stay indoors its becoming difficult to catch the sun. A sunny balcony, a porch, cycling in the sun or just a walk are ways that we can soak up the goodness.

Diet: Mushrooms, milk fortified with Vitamin D,eggs, fish are good sources.

Supplements: Vitamin D supplements are easily available at your doctors recommendation. A small daily dose in the form of suspension or a tablet can be prescribed especially if finding the sun is difficult.

Safe sun exposure:

While sun exposure is essential to produce Vitamin D it is important to be safe whilst doing so. The duration of sun exposure depends on the amount of melanin in the skin too. People with more melanin (darker skin tones) will need longer in the sun than those with less melanin.

The recommendation is to expose at least 25% of bare skin (nosunscreens please) for at least 30 mins to the sun between 11-2 pm or longer for the morning sun for adequate exposure to UVB rays and production of Vitamin D. 3-4 times a week should suffice

Vitamin D recommendation:

The current recommended daily allowance of Vitamin D for people with preexisting normal levels is 400 to 800 international units per day. Higher doses may be suggested by your doctor if your levels are low. A blood test is generally required to determine the level of Vitamin D in your body before higher doses can be safely suggested.

Vitamin D toxicity:

Taking high doses of Vitamin D can cause toxic effects given the nature of this Vitamin. Hence it is extremely important not to take higher doses without consulting your doctor

Go ahead and get the immunity boost that you need just from soaking up the sun! Stay safe and maintain social distancing whilst you do so!

By Dr. SuruchiGoyalAgarwal, Consultant Paediatrics and Paediatric Endocrinology, Columbia Asia Hospital Whitefield

Continued here:
Vitamin D and Immunity: The Sunshine Vitamin - NewsPatrolling

Cyclone Safety Dos and Dont's you shoud know. 

India is preparing to fight Cyclone Nisarga barely within two weeks of Cyclone Amphan. The cyclonic storm which is currently a depression is reaching Gujarat and Maharashtra at the speed of 4km/hr. A red alert has been issued to Maharashtra and Gujarat.

The Indian Meteorological Department on Tuesday said that the depression in the Arabian Sea could develop into a cyclonic storm in the next 12 hours and later intensify into a severe cyclonic storm within the next 24 hours. It is very likely to move nearly northwards during the next six hours and recurve north-northeastwards thereafter, and cross north Maharashtra and adjoining south Gujarat coast between Harihareshwar (Raigad, Maharashtra) and Daman during the afternoon of June 3, the IMD said.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed a team in Maharashtra. Mumbai metropolitan region, Thane, Palghar and Raigad have been put on high alert. Palghar is expected to get the worst affected by the storm.

Before the cyclone season:

Necessary actions:

The actions that need to be taken in the event of a cyclone threat can broadly be divided into:

1. Immediately before the cyclone season

2. When cyclone alerts and warnings are communicated

3. When evacuations are advised

4. When the cyclone has crossed the coast

When the cyclone starts:

When your area is under cyclone warning get away from low-lying beaches or other low-lying areas close to the coast:

When evacuation is instructed:

Post-cyclone measures:

Originally posted here:
Cyclone Nisarga: Know these cyclone safety dos and don'ts as Red alert issued to Maharashtra, Gujarat - Times Now

Whether to eat meat or not can be a very personal decision. The choice is often tied to our beliefs about humans relationship with animals, as well as to our upbringing, values and identity

There are multiple reasons that someone might decide to reduce their meat consumption or ditch it from their diets completely. And over the last decade, theres been a growing trend of people going meatless all the time, or just sometimes, for their health. Its a shift that raises some important questions: Is a diet without meat truly better for you? And, if so, what is it about plant-based diets that our bodies love?

The answer isnt as simple as saying meat is bad and plants are good.

Plant-based diets come in many stripes. And though the diet plans that completely omit meat probably get the most attention, theyre relatively uncommon. Around 3 percent of Americans consider themselves vegans, and 5 percent consider themselves vegetarians, according to some reports.

Most vegetarians eat a lacto-ovo diet, which means they eat fruits and veggies, beans, nuts, grains and soy, as well as animal byproducts like eggs, dairy and honey. Vegans are vegetarians that dont eat anything that comes from an animal. But there are some beegans out there vegans who eat honey.

Other plant-based diets incorporate some meat or fish: The pescatarian diet is similar to the lacto-ovo vegetarian diet, but with the addition of fish. Theres also the flexitarian diet, which encompasses a spectrum of semi-vegetarianism: heavy on plants and light on meat and animal products. Even the Mediterranean diet is technically plant-based, and its one of the most-studied and deemed healthy ways of eating.

A number of studies have shown that a diet low in meat is linked to longer lifespans. But the matter is far from settled, as some studies havent found a significant difference in life expectancy between meat eaters and vegetarians.

But there is growing evidence that plant-based diets are associated with benefits like lower blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and reduced body weight. These improved health measures often translate to less risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other diseases. Eating more whole, plant-based foods could help lower the risk of some health conditions, and might even help people live longer. But researchers also suspect that vegetarians are more health-conscious overall so, theyre likely to be drinking and smoking less and moving their bodies more than the general population which complicates some study results.

Still, emerging research points to a potentially helpful role of plant-based diets in managing some chronic health conditions. For instance, some studies suggest that plant-based diets veganism in particular may help control rheumatoid arthritis.

A 2018 review of nearly a dozen studies most of them randomized controlled trials, the gold standard in research found that eating a plant-based diet can help manage type 2 diabetes. People who followed a plant-based diet experienced greater improvements in blood sugar and cholesterol levels, body weight and mental health compared with people who did not follow plant-based diets. Some participants who avoided animal products were able to reduce or eliminate the use of diabetes medication, the review found.

Beyond that, preliminary research shows the MIND diet (MediterraneanDASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) can help slow cognitive decline and rates of Alzheimers in old age.

The idea that fruits and vegetables are good for us is so ingrained in us that we dont really give it much thought. But what is it about plant-based meals that make them healthful?

According to GingerHultin,a Seattle-based registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, plant-based diets tend to be lower in saturated fat and higher in fiber, vitamins and minerals.

But linking nutrition to health effects is where things get a bit tricky. A 2019 review in Nature found evidence that supports many plant-based diet health claims, but they were unable to uncover the specific mechanisms that delivered the benefits. In other words, they werent sure the if the benefits were related to nutrition, caloric intake, avoidance of animal products or other factors you might associate with a plant-based diet.

But perhaps the answer is rooted in our microbiomes. Increasingly, scientists are learning that whats good for our health comes down to whats good for our microbiomes. Research is revealing that a diet high in fiber seems to nourish the trillions of bacteria living inside our guts that impact our health. A 2019 review published in Frontiers in Nutrition concluded that diet is the most significant factor that influences microbiome composition. Plant-based diets encourage greater microbial diversity the hallmark of a healthy gut. Lower microbe diversity has been linked to conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Humankinds relationship with meat is complicated. We evolved the ability to eat meat, and it changed us. Yet meat is not essential to the human diet, Hultin says.

The only vitamin in the human diet that must come from animal sources is B12 the result of an evolutionary glitch. But this requirement can be met with a supplement. And in case youre wondering, protein deficiencies are uncommon in America, even among vegetarians, Hultin added.

These are not diets where you just eat salad, for example. If a person is hungry or unsatisfied, or [is experiencing] low energy on a plant-based diet, theyre missing something, said Hultin. Its important to know how to meet your needs on a plant-based diet, just like you would on an omnivorous diet.

Undeniably, many people simply like the taste and texture of meat and cannot imagine a Thanksgiving without turkey or a barbecue without burgers. And a healthy diet can certainly include animal protein. But surveys show were leaving little room on our plates for much else these days.

Annual red meat and poultry consumption in America has reached 222 pounds per person on average an amount that has doubled since the 1960s. Only 1 in 10 American adults gets enough fruits and vegetables in their daily diets, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found. The recommendation is 1.5 to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day.

Americans eat a lot of meat; more than they need, most likely. One of the biggest problems here is that consuming more than the recommended intake of protein in the form of high-fat meats can easily exceed saturated fat recommendations, Hultin says.

If youd like to reap some of the health benefits of a plant-based diet, you may not need to go cold turkey on meat.

I often recommend experimenting with familiar foods that just dont have meat. For example, instead of a soup with meat in it, try one with lentils in it. Instead of taco meat, try crumbled tempeh. If you order Thai food to go, order it with tofu instead of meat, Hultin says. Think simple swaps. Make meals that you enjoy but just with different ingredients, so foods are familiar and delicious but also meet your goals of being more plant-based.

Read this article:
What Science Says About the Health Benefits of Plant-Based Diets - Discover Magazine

A report entitled towards sustainable food: a major health, social, territorial and environmental challenge for France, published by the French Senates committee for forward planning, advocates a more sober and more vegetable diet.

It suggests to "clean up the food supply by encouraging or forcing the reformulation of recipes for industrial dishes (limitation of salt, sugar or saturated fat)".

The report won cross-party approval, and with President Macrons governments parliamentarians backing the proposal, it is expected to be turned into law.

France may be renowned for its unique gastronomic heritage, but in the report the senators highlighted research showing that the pre-cooked meal market had risen by an average of 4.4% a year since 1960, while the time spent by the French in their kitchens had dropped by a quarter over the past 25 years. The report added that with an ageing population and more people living alone, pre-cooked meals were likely to continue growing at least until 2025.

Our diet has become richer in energy and animal products, and further processed and (even now ultra-transformed) by industry, said the senators. Food consumption away from home is also a lot more developed. At the same time as our plates, it is our symbolic links to diet that have changed. It is likely that many of the traits of our food will last, because they are linked to [strong] sociological and economic trends, a change in our lifestyles which seems irreversible.

The report complained that healthy and eco-sustainable food could only be enjoyed by affluent people. Low-income households have concentrated health problems linked to overly rich and unbalanced food inherited from the twentieth century, it said.

The senators have proposed a food tax similar to the soda tax in France introduced in 2013, and which was increased in 2017. The senators propose to "tax, on the model of the soda tax, certain foods because of their poor nutritional quality (for example those classified D or E in the Nutriscore). They said the proceeds of the tax would be used to fund nutrition education and healthy food vouchers that people could use to buy fresh fruits or vegetables. They said they envisioned to clean up the food supply by encouraging or by forcing the reformulation of revenues industrial dishes (limitation of salt, sugar or saturated fat), by regulating the supply of snacking of vending machines, generalizing nutrition labellingand environmental, by banning products displaying a Nutriscore D or E in the promotional corridors of large surfaces or by regulating food advertising television or cinema to children.

Jean-Luc Fichet, one of the senators who wrote the report, also said: There are good grounds for legislating to improve the recipes produced by the industry.

The senators proposed 20 measures in total including fewer imports of protein, in particular the case of soy intended for animal feed. They called for legume recipes be put back in the spotlight in the kitchen and for investment to develop more productive legume varieties and less sensitive to hazards. They added they said they wanted to support research efforts independent scientist to measure health effects of pesticide residues and food additives used by industry.

Read more from the original source:
French legislators demand 'sober' diet with 'more vegetables' in bid to call time on ready-meal rise - FoodNavigator.com

Created by Harley Pasternak, a celebrity personal trainer who has worked with everyone from Kim and Khloe Kardashian to Jessica Simpson, Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande, the Body Reset Diet is a 15-day program that promises to "power your metabolism, blast fat, and shed pounds," according to The Body Reset Diet book, published by Pasternak in 2013.

The Body Reset Diet encourages replacing some meals with smoothies.

Image Credit: ilona titova/iStock/GettyImages

The diet is built to "reset" your body and give you a jumpstart on your weight-loss goals. Pasternak attempts to provide solutions through his diet to solve for the many reasons why other diets fail.

The "rules" of the diet include:

The Body Reset Diet lasts for 15 days, which is broken up into three phases, lasting five days each.

During phase one (days one through five), smoothies are consumed three times a day along with two snacks. The meals are structured to be high in volume so that you'll still feel like you're eating a lot of food when in fact the calorie count is closer to 1,200 per day.

Workouts like CrossFit or SoulCycle are discouraged during phase one. Instead, you should aim to walk 10,000 steps each day.

During phase two (days six through10), you continue eating five times a day. The one big change is that you reduce the number of smoothies from three to two per day, and you add one solid meal instead. So, your meals include two smoothies, one healthy, whole foods meal and two snacks between meals each day.

Rigorous exercise is still discouraged, but in addition to your daily steps, a 5-minute resistance training program is added, to be completed three times a week.

During this phase (days 11 through 15), you continue with the pattern by reducing the number of smoothies again. Now you'll enjoy just one smoothie a day, along with two meals and two snacks.

Exercise is increased again. The goal is still to take 10,000 steps a day, and the 5-minute training programs are increased to five times a week.

Curious exactly how many calories you burn during your workouts? Download the MyPlate app for a more accurate and customized estimate.

What Can You Eat on the Body Reset Diet?

Sample Phase One Menu

During Phase One, the three smoothies you consume must follow this order: white smoothie for breakfast, red smoothie for lunch, green smoothie for dinner. There are recipes for each color-specific smoothie in the book, as reported by U.S. News and World Report.

Can You Lose Weight on the Body Reset Diet?

Yes. While it may encourage less exercise than you're used to, it's likely the amount of calories you're consuming is drastically cut, too (around 1,200 to 1,300 per day).

Also, 10,000 steps a day may not seem like a lot as your only exercise, but it may be more difficult to achieve than you think if you're used to sitting for most of the day for work.

Pros and Cons

There are a few pros of the Body Reset Diet.

1. Promotes blending vs. juicing. Smoothies are a main component of the diet. It's a plus that the diet encourages blending instead of juicing, which is the direction many weight-loss diets take. By blending, you're keeping fiber in the equation, which promotes satiety, supporting overall weight-loss goals, according to a November 2015 paper published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

2. It doesn't require expensive meal delivery or other diet-specific packaged foods. Some weight-loss plans promote or require their own food products or meal delivery services to be successful with the diet (and these are often costly). The Body Reset Diet relies on everyday foods you can find at your local supermarket.

3. Encourages eating five meals a day, with a focus on fiber and protein. The diet encourages eating every couple of hours, along with consuming ample protein and fiber, which helps keep you feeling satisfied.

Here are some of the potential cons to following the Body Reset Diet.

1. Very regimented and restricted. The diet is very regimented and specific as to what and how much you can eat when and on what day. It doesn't leave much room for flexibility.

2. Time consuming. Because the diet is so strict, you have to plan and shop for every meal, exactly as prescribed. This can be both mentally and physically time-consuming.

3. Eating smoothies two to three times a day can get monotonous. Enough said.

4. Not sustainable. Eating so few calories in such a regimented way is not sustainable for most people (read: 99.9 percent of humans). The diet is only intended to be a 15-day reset, so it was never intended to be a long-term solution, but there is little merit in eating a certain way for two weeks to just go back to eating the way you were before.

5. Not appropriate for everyone. If you have a history of disordered eating, are pregnant or are breastfeeding, you should avoid this diet. Also, you should consult your doctor before trying the Body Reset Diet if you have any blood glucose control issues or any chronic illnesses.

As a dietitian, I'm not a fan of short-term, quick-fix diet plans. They tend to lead you right back where you started, with perhaps a few extra pounds (restricting tends to lead to binging) and maybe even some shame and disappointment in yourself.

Instead, incorporate some of the positive tenets of the diet, like eating more whole foods fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, lean proteins while limiting highly processed foods, alcohol, candy and sugary beverages. There's also no harm in adding one of the smoothie recipes into your daily menu rotation, but there's no need to consume three a day.

See original here:
What Is the Body Reset Diet, and Does It Work for Weight Loss? - LIVESTRONG.COM