Dr. Joel Furhman wrote the bestselling book Eat to Live back in 2003 and it changed lives. Billed as a diet for "fast and sustained weight loss," it taught readers how to think about food in a new way: As nutrient-dense packages that would help their bodies operate at their highest levels, by fueling them with the best quality vegetables, fruits, and seek calories that carry a benefit as well as energy. The purpose was to help the population lose weight and be healthier, both. He created what he calls "the Nutritarian diet," whichis a nutrient-rich diet stylethat sets it apart from other diets. He writes in his new book, Eat for Life:

"By paying attention not just to vitamins and minerals, but also to the thousands of other phytonutrientsthat is, the beneficial chemicals found in plantsthat are essential for maximizing immune function, such a diet style can have a profound effect on extending healthspan (meaning the number of hears we can expect to be healthy) and lifespan."

Vegetables, he adds, are the foods that have the highest micro-nutrients per calorie. The chapter headings include: Your Health is in Your Hands, We Can Prevent Cancer, The Struggle to Lose Weight and We Can Reverse Disease. For anyone who is concerned with their health right now, this is a new healthy-living, nutrition bible not to be put down.

Dr. Fuhrman's approach is not only nutrient-dense but also vegan, gluten-free, low in sodium, fat, and oils. The diet also avoids or minimizes processed foods, and focuses on eating nutrient-dense foods that are high in vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. Dr.Fuhrman sat down with The Beet recently to talk about the important information in his new book, Eat for Life, and the actionable recipes and advice that he wants people to follow.

Dr. Fuhrman wants to help us all eat healthier right now, not just for weight loss, but also for our own disease prevention, natural immune-boosting potential, and overall longevity. He also has one food or ingredient he wished we would all stay away from. Read onto find outwhat that is.

A. Science. In the 14 years sinceI began writing Eat for Life, the science and cumulative effect of research into the power of foods and the effect on cancer and disease is undeniable.

Back then I just had my case studies to convince myself and others. Now we have so many studies that prove that food is medicine. And we have access to foods that have powerful effects on longevity, like blueberries which are now available to us year-round, and microgreens like baby arugula.

The accumulation of science and new research studies offer up clinical evidence of people using a plant-based diet to reverse disease. It was anecdotal when I wrote Eat to Live. Today it is undeniable.

A. The same nutritional protocol that slows aging also cures so-called incurable diseases.

Like Lupus. Instead of needing a kidney transplant like Selena Gomez, people should know they can get well by changing to a plant-based diet.

Lupus, chronic conditions like asthma, and mortal threats like cancer and heart disease can be prevented and even reversed if someonetakes the right approach totheir diet.

A. Eat early. There is new information that a calorie in the morning is not the same as calories as night. So it's better to eat earlier in the day. Intermittent fasting is fine as long as you eat breakfast and lunch and skip dinner.

In fact,your body functions better in terms of the work it has to do to repair and regenerate cells overnight if it sleeps on an empty stomach.

A. My role is to give them the pinnacle of advice. My specialty is not to water it down but to idealize it for people. Other doctors will water it down. And I won't do that. If you want to be healthy, this is the way to eat.

I have been dealing with that [dilluting of the message] for 40 years. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, we know that works but you're not going to get many people to do it. But the opposite is true because they water it down and don't get the benefit. If you're an alcoholic you don't water it down.

You have tomake a decision. If you have the information and you still choose to eat unhealthily, then it's like a smoker who knows the risk and still chooses to smoke. My job isto arm people with information to allowthem to be their healthiest.

A. The question is can you make it taste great?And then, can people stick with it for the long term? The recipes we have put together over the last 20 years are delicious. So now we have ways to make the most powerful way to eat also taste great.

Also, that and it has to work.Eating a little bit of oil causes hydrolysis, and a little bit of sugar keeps weight on. So if you give it to them in moderation, they keep one foot in both worlds and never make the progress for the rest of their lives. Unless you can give them results, they eventually become less desirous of the best way to eat.

It actually becomes easier to do it all the way. That is why I have a food retreat for people who have food addictions and need to get well, and a lot of them can't do it because of the addictive nature of food.

A. Baby steps don't work.I have an all-year-round facility where people can come under my care. The majority of people are we're overweight and they need to lose weight. Once they stay on the program, their recidivism rate goes from 80 percent to 10 percent. The majority are there to learn how to eat healthily and lose weight and acclimate their taste buds.

One is the most important thing is to set the example yourself. Be the role model. People see you are never sick, you don't have weight problems and you feel great. that is powerful. the second thing is people look around their families and then what are you going to do? Wait until they have a heart attack to be healthy? Wait until somebody develops a life-threatening condition to start being healthy?

People, whether they are healthy or not, they are living with medical fear and intervention. It's a religion to think doctors are going to save you and increase your lifespan, and that is not true. To me, the evidence is so convincing. To think that people can do sports well into their 60s and 80s and stay young and strong if they eat healthfully and are active. I am a skier and I still ski at the level that I have for my entire adult life, even moguls.

A. Breakfast: not yet. I haven't eaten yet today. But usually it's oats and berries.

I'll take frozen berries out of the freezer and mix it with either some flax seeds or hemp seeds or milk or some steel-cut oats. Or maybe I will have half of an avocado and a couple of oranges and a handful of nuts.

Mostly lunch is my main meal of the day.I advocate that people structure their day that way. Yesterday I had a giant salad and beans on top and arugula and seeds.

Then dinner is just a bowl of lentil soup or six-beet soup. Mushrooms and onions and something like fruit for dessert. Yesterday I was on TV from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and I went to Whole Foods and had a good-sized lunch and then a light dinner. I try to have a giant salad at least once a day. Everyone should.

The enhanced life span you get is enhanced even more if you eat an earlier and lighter dinner. You do more healing and repair when you sleep with no food in your stomach. We don't want people to eat a big meal late at night.

You need to stack your calories to the earlier part of the day.A calorie in the morning is better. When you have a calorie at night it counts for almost 2 calories. A calorie before bed is almost definitely stored as fat.

A. Yes. But for me, it depends on the season and what I'm training for.I love mogul skiing and I bomb down the moguls and in the wintertime, I do more on my legs and core. But that means I am better in the moguls. I weigh 145 in winter, but a, fairly lean top. By Summer I go up to 148 and I get stronger. Then in September, I do my bench jumps and box jumps to get lighter...Lower back and midsection for moguls and bumps.

A. Oil. Olive oil. Olive Oil is going to cause breast cancer.Lets put it this way: Oil is absorbed 100 percent by the body and stops the break down of fat. Fat secretes cytokines and produces more estrogenand that leads to cancer. it's the biggest scam perpetrated on the population, that olive oil is a health food. It's just better than butter.

Any study that shows the beneficial effects of oil is not true. Most of us eat 400 calories in oil a day, so if you cut that out you will lose weight.

But eating nuts and seeds is actually healthy. If you take all the natural oils out of your diet, but then you put back in nuts and seeds you start losing weight. So eating nuts and seeds is fine.

A: Most of America is overweight. Just because everyone else is walking around 20 to 30 pounds overweight we think it's okay to have that fat on your body. It becomes normal.

Our body fat levels are generally too high. Women should be below 25 percent body fat composition, and men should be below 15 percent body fat, for optimal health.

Optimal body fat for a woman is 22.5 and a man below 12 percent. I have a body fat of about 9 percent. All the fat in my diet comes from nuts and whole foods. All oils are stored as fat. Nuts and fat in moderation are fine to burn for energy but most of us don't burn it.

A. Know your G BOMBS, meaning foods that do the most good for you. I call them G Bombs because they are loaded with benefits and I describe them in my book Super Immunity. G-Bombs is just a reminder of what to eat. It stands for Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms, Berries, and Seeds. They don't just have low calorie and high nutrients, these foods have ultra therapeutic benefits that make weight loss easier. They are also known to fight breast cancer and other diseases.

A. You need to break the cycle of processed or junk food. I am the only person who addresses that when your diet is poor you get toxic hunger from metabolic waste. This is why people eat more calories that they need.

A. My passion and my excitement for doing this, the reason I went to medical school, is I knew people should have the right to get well. And withouttaking all those medicines. People don't have to be on drugs for the rest of their life.

If you're not going to be told you can get well, then you don't have informed consent. People have to know they have an option. there are not that many diets that work to reverse disease and give you a longer lifespan...Nutritarian eating does.

Read the original here:
Exactly What to Eat to Be Your Healthiest, by Bestselling Author Dr. Joel Fuhrman - The Beet

Exams will not go ahead, teaching, learning and support can continue with local flexibility.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney has updated Parliament on the decision to close schools and confirmed that:

Mr Swinney said:

My priorities are to ensure the health and wellbeing of our children, young people and staff, and to maintain teaching and learning wherever this is possible, guided by the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and public health experts.

Teaching, learning and support will continue albeit in different ways for different groups of children. For the majority, this will be through distance learning and online learning, with different forms of on-going contact with teachers rather than in-school, face-to-face. Teachers and other staff who are well will continue to be working.

For vulnerable children and those who have parents or carers employed as key workers, local authorities are developing approaches to support them. We will not cut adrift vulnerable young people who often rely on school life for hot meals or for a safe, nurturing and supportive environment.

Parents are not expected to be a teacher or to recreate the school day - your school will be giving you some resources and suggestions as your first port of call.

It is a measure of the gravity of the challenge we now face that the exams will not go ahead this year. With the support of the wider education system, a credible certification model can be put in place in the that can command confidence in the absence of the exam diet to ensure that young people in our schools and colleges who through no fault of their own are unable to sit exams, are not disadvantaged.

Background

The Deputy First Ministers statement in full.

The SQA will develop a certification model to replace the exam diet. Pupils in S4-S6 with coursework for national qualifications to complete will be informed by their schools how to complete this.

Local authorities will put in place appropriate arrangements to support vulnerable children and those who have parents or carers employed as key workers this may include exceptional provision to continue to attend school or local childcare that the local authority put in place. Those with complex additional support needs who are learning and living in residential special schools will continue to receive the care and support they require and any long-term health conditions will be taken into account.

Local authorities are also being encouraged to work with local childcare providers in the private and third sectors to ensure ongoing provision to enable key workers to remain in work. Funding will continue to allow contractual payments to private and third sector providers, including childminders, for statutory early learning and childcare hours to continue. This is worth 220 million to the childcare sector in 2020-21.

A 70 million food fund from the support package for communities announced yesterday will support access to food, including provision of free school meals. Pupil Equity Funding will be relaxed to allow headteachers and local authorities to support the most vulnerable childrens needs during this time.

Local authorities can deploy the 2020-21 uplift in funding for the 1140 hours expansion as flexibly as is needed to support families and childcare providers during this period.

Key workers are those who work in posts which ensure that essential services can be delivered, or those who cover tasks within the local community which support the vulnerable and aid community resilience. The exact definition will vary based on local needs.

The Student Awards Agency Scotland will endeavour to continue to fund students on time, and students will be updated throughout. The Further and Higher Education Minister is working closely with the Scottish Funding Council, college and university principals and unions.

View original post here:
Update on school closures and exams - Scottish Government News

Cletas Nutritions full-time sales consultant, Jennifer Rulo, left, store manager Wendi Wittman, center, and Wittmans mother and Cletas founder, Beverly Roberts, all of Godfrey, stand inside Cletas Nutrition, at 3004 Godfrey Road, in Godfrey. Roberts founded the health food store in 1991.

Cletas Nutritions full-time sales consultant, Jennifer Rulo, left, store manager Wendi Wittman, center, and Wittmans mother and Cletas founder, Beverly Roberts, all of Godfrey, stand inside

Cletas Nutritions full-time sales consultant, Jennifer Rulo, left, store manager Wendi Wittman, center, and Wittmans mother and Cletas founder, Beverly Roberts, all of Godfrey, stand inside Cletas Nutrition, at 3004 Godfrey Road, in Godfrey. Roberts founded the health food store in 1991.

Cletas Nutritions full-time sales consultant, Jennifer Rulo, left, store manager Wendi Wittman, center, and Wittmans mother and Cletas founder, Beverly Roberts, all of Godfrey, stand inside

Clean living closer than you think at Cletas Nutrition

GODFREY One of the regions most comprehensive health food destinations is right here in our own backyard.

Were the place you come to if you have a food intolerance, said Cletas Nutrition store manager Wendi Wittman. We have that edge. We carry and focus on what you would normally have to go to St. Louis to find.

Wittmans mother, Beverly Roberts, 75, founded Cletas Nutrition, in Godfrey, nearly three decades ago, at 3004 Godfrey Road, and still works at the health food store.

Wittman, 49, and knowledgeable full-time sales consultant, Jennifer Rulo, 46, research every single brand and product that is sold at Cletas Nutrition.

Rulo, a former customer, came to Cletas 12 years ago seeking pain relief. Not only did she find that relief often through trial and error but she also discovered a desire to help others find relief from persistent daily human conditions.

She is a blessing, said Roberts, who opened Cletas Nutrition in 1991.

Shes on it, shes into it, her hearts into health.

Rulo originally came to Cletas Nutrition to address her own fibromyalgia and inflammation. Now shes worked at Cletas for more than four years, helping others who walk through Cletas door to manage their own physical pain and fatigue.

I do a lot of one-on-one, Rulo said. People approach me about different things theres so many options. Theres a lot of different avenues as far as what people respond to we never diagnose or recommend, but talk about what has worked for other people and different research on pain management.

You have to know your companies and do your research to talk to others about clean products, she said, and you should always consult a physician before changing your diet or adding any supplements, especially with prescription medication.

Current diet trends include a ketogenic diet, high in fat, adequate in protein and low in carbohydrates, or plant-based, not necessarily vegetarian, consisting mostly, or entirely, of plant-derived foods, including vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and fruits, and with few, or no, animal products. Diets that address food intolerance issues also are common, Rulo said.

Roberts began working in the health food and nutrition industry in the 1970s, for River City Nutrition, founded by Carl Muckler, who had an Alton location and three Missouri locations: Florissant, Chesterfield and Kirkwood, where Roberts worked. But her experience there wasnt the only thing that inspired her to have her own health food and nutrition business.

Different family members were getting sick and I was trying to think outside the box, about what could fuel the body so it could heal, Roberts recalled.

Now twice widowed, Roberts said health improved for her first and for her second husband when, during the course of their respective medical treatment, they began consuming clean foods and giving more attention to nutrition.

Clean means no chemicals, no dyes, no preservatives, no artificial or synthetic anything, explained Wittman.

In general, clean eating follows the belief that consuming whole foods in their most natural state and avoiding processed foods, such as refined sugar, offers certain health benefits.

For instance, organic ketchup has 45 percent more lycopene than commercial brands, Wittman noted.

Lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, can be found as a supplement, but it may be most effective when consumed from lycopene-rich foods, like, tomatoes. Lycopenes many health benefits purportedly include improved heart health and lower risk of certain types of cancer, as well as sun protection.

Roberts was diagnosed with lupus approximately three years ago, she said, and credits clean eating for reversing the systemic autoimmune disease, for which she no longer tests positive.

Within a year and a half, I tested negative, she said. God made the body to heal. In my recovery, I worked with diet changes, cleaning it up even more.

Cletas also offers healthy alternatives, such as homeopathic medicinal products, for mind and body, including beauty and hygiene products, such as fluoride-free toothpaste and hair and skin care.

Its nutrition for your outer organs, Wittman said.

Roberts gives all the credit for Cletas longevity to God.

Hes the reason, He has blessed our business, she said.

People come in here for so many things medically that may be irreversible, but you can clean up.

Visit Cletas Nutritions Facebook page for more information.

The rest is here:
Clean living closer than you think at Cletas Nutrition - Alton Telegraph

Actor Idris Elba has hinted that he contracted the novel coronavirus from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus wife, Sophie Grgoire Trudeau. In a live Twitter video with fans on Tuesday, he said I know Ive been exposed to it from March 4, referencing the day he took a picture with Trudeaus wife in London. Thats when the person that came up positive, that was the time I got in contact with that person, Elba added in a separate update. The 47-year-old actor previously said that he was tested after he found out that someone who he had been in contact with had tested positive. My job made me test immediately. I had to test because it meant putting a lot of people at risk. If I had been exposed, then the people I was working with would also have been exposed, the actor, who is currently under self-quarantine, said.

Visit link:
Idris Elba Hints That He Contracted Coronavirus From Justin Trudeau's Wife - Daily Beast

The placebo effect is a wonderful thing, and still highly mysterious. A person who believes they have been given effective treatment for pain or disease, even though they havent, might get better. Placebos can work even if you know they are placebos, and for reasons no one understands the placebo effect appears to be getting stronger over time. It is silly to casually dismiss findings that a medicine performs only a little bit better than placebo: placebo is already extremely strong.

It is surprising, then, that the placebo effect is first mentioned only halfway through this compendium of stories about people given terminal diagnoses for stage 4 cancer and other diseases who, for medically unexplained reasons, suddenly experience a miraculous recovery, or in the lingo a spontaneous remission. One woman goes to a faith-healing centre in Brazil and gets better; another quits her job and starts doing yoga and gets better; another accepts herself just as she is and faces up to death and gets better; a man adopts the keto diet and gets better, and so forth.

The author, a psychiatrist with a theology degree, is determined to keep an open mind about all this but not so open, the reader hopes, that everything falls out. He notes, for example, that people who attend the Brazilian healing community experience a sudden change in diet (lots of fruit juices and vegetarian meals), spend hours a day meditating, and experience the loving kindness of strangers, all of which are definitely good for you. The keto diet, in particular, might be excellent for the immune system and we know, thanks to the growing field of cancer immunotherapy, that a supercharged immune system can defeat tumours all by itself. Even forgiving those who have wronged you, some research suggests, is good for the immune system.

There are no stories here about people who became ill, changed their diet, avoided stress and still died anyway

This is all interesting and warmly related, and Rediger mainly avoids woo, as you would hope a medically trained person would though there is one dispiriting section in which he excitedly suggests that quantum physics might explain how the mind can affect the body. How, exactly? Oh, just because quantum physics apparently is showing us that some of the laws of the universe that we thought of as fixed or immutable are, in fact, not. Actually, quantum physics, too, is grounded in immutable laws. The author is in a hurry, too, to dismiss the possibility that a couple of his case studies happened to be especially high responders to chemotherapy drugs that they did, in fact, take, while also embracing their unique individuality.

Its worth noting that an ancient, moralistic view of health and disease is still encoded into the terms we use: remission originally meant forgiveness of sins, or pardon for a crime, and the potential negative implication of a book such as this, which cheers on those who experienced remission for having done all the right things, is that if you get sick, and stay sick, you have no one to blame but yourself. The sect known confusingly as Christian Science, indeed, follows the teaching of its founder, Mary Baker Eddy, that sickness is merely an illusion and can be corrected by prayer. Despite his laudable attempt to reassure the reader that being sick is not your fault, Redigers own conclusion is not a million miles from the same idea. What spontaneous healing has taught us, he writes, is that waking up to a deeper awareness of our value and strength is capable of changing our physiology. If we assume that the mind is powerful and capable of altering disease progression, it follows that a significant mental change may be capable of precipitating a significant physical change even a remission.

There is a lot of work being done with that little may. From a scientific standpoint, there is a severe issue of selection bias in the narratives the book offers. Rediger does not, after all, tell any stories about people who became ill and then changed their diet, avoided stress, embraced love, and faced up to their inevitable extinction and still died anyway. You would think there would be no shortage of such discouraging tales. Without a sense of whether they, as you might suspect, vastly outweigh the cases of amazing recovery, it is hard to draw firm conclusions. The introduction even claims that the author has discovered the foundation for a new model of medicine, but it would be irresponsible to suggest anyone decline hospital treatment in favour of positive thinking. In the meantime, the author himself at one point boasts that it is almost impossible for him to become ill. Given the timing of his books publication, one can only hope he is right.

Cured is published by Penguin (RRP 16.99). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Free UK p&p on all online orders over 15.

Original post:
Cured by Jeffrey Rediger review stories of spontaneous healing - The Guardian

Faced with months of crippling road-closing construction outside her five-year-old bakery in downtown Massillon last year, Jamie Anania decided to take a big plunge.

She used that downtime to convert her Sugar Mamas Bakery at 44 Lincoln Way E into The Root Vegan & GF Cafe, something shed long dreamed about. The cafe, like Ananias own diet, is 100% free of animal products and uses organic produce and non-GMO products.

Here, Anania talks about her food and why it is attracting lots of enthusiastic repeat customers.

Q. Are you surprised by the quick success of your cafe?A. I guess Im a little shocked. I didnt realize there were so many vegan people in Massillon and around this area. Saturdays are usually standing-room only. It was a huge gamble, but when the streets closed and our income went to nothing, I figured its either going to be this or Ill get a job at a factory.

Q. Having eaten at The Root and talked to some customers, it seems like the key is simply making vegan food taste good.A. Everyone always expects vegan to be crunchy, flavorless and kind of blah. I dont think you should have to sacrifice flavor for health when you can have the whole package. People eat with their eyes so it should be beautiful as well as taste good.

Q. You serve things like Reubens and sausage sandwiches that use jackfruit instead of meat. How do you make that work?A. What we do is mimic foods using plant-based options. The jackfruit is a big hit. I use it for turkey, I use it for chicken, I use it in the Reuben. Its very versatile, and like tofu, it will take on the flavors of whatever youre cooking it with. Our BBQ jackfruit wrap is extremely popular, which is a big ol tortilla wrapped with organic greens, sauteed peppers and onions, (dairy-free) cheddar cheese sauce and our homemade Southwestern avocado dressing.

Q. Many vegans seem to miss cheese the most of all. What can you tell me about yours?A. When you first start venturing into the non-dairy world, dairy-free cheese can turn people off real fast because thats their one vice. We kind of just ventured into using different products and altering our recipes to come up with the perfect creaminess of cheese without dairy, lactose and hormones. We make our loaded fries, chili fries and nachos with plant-based cheese sauce. Its a cleaner version of naughty food.

Q. Do you have non-vegan customers?A. Weve had quite a few people who are not vegan come in to try it out and they find out they dont miss meat. Some people are just trying to clean up their diet. Some people appreciate diversity in food.

Read the original post:
The Root Vegan & GF Cafe | Behind the Food - Aboutstark.com

FRISCO, Texas Like everybody in these uncertain times, Luchi Gonzalez and his FC Dallas coaching staff have had to be nimble to navigate through this new, ever-changing situation.

In a conference call with media earlier this week, Luchi shed some light on how the team is doing personally and the steps being taken to maintain health and fitness during the league-wide training moratorium.

Without access to team facilities, the training staff have devised specific workout regimens the players can do from the comfort of their own homes using common household items. This can involve using shoes instead of cones, or books in leu of dumbbells.

Soon, the players will also be given nutrition guides to maintain a balanced diet over the period theyre away.

We do have a nutritionist on the team, Brittney [Bearden], who is working on getting meal plans set up for the players starting next week, Luchi said. Knowing we are currently limited, she will offer suggestions on what we can eat and what we can buy at stores while keeping in mind that going to the store may be an obstacle right now. But she will send a guide for players to follow.

Aside from basic exercises and nutrition plans, Luchi is working with his staff on creative solutions to keep their players prepared and engaged.

In terms of soccer, Im confident in my staff, Peter [Luccin], Mikey [Varas], Drew [Keeshan], Vander [Salas], Fredy [Herrera] and in the rest technical staff around me to come up with ideas to keep our players active and stimulated. We have some creative ideas for both on and off the field, or right now its more inside and outside their homes. We are going to start executing some of these ideas this weekend or first thing next week. This first week, its all about the basics and doing simple things to get into a system. Next week, we will be more confident on how we are going to move forward.

As always, Luchi also made it clear that this situation is bigger than FC Dallas, MLS andsports in general.

"Everyone be strong. Be conscious, and respectful to your neighbor by having distance. If youre helping to do so without physically touching [to stop the spread of the virus]. We are all human beings, we have our rights, and we are all in this together. Together is how we will overcome these situations. Whether youre a 20-year-old with good health or a 60-year-old person, we all have to be respectful of each other and be aware of how the virus spreads and do the right things to protect everyone."

Excerpt from:
Catching Up with Luchi Gonzalez: How His Team and Staff Are Working Through an Unprecedented Time - FC Dallas

One of the key issues with packaged snack foods is that they are easy to over-consume, either because they are particular sweet and tasty, or because they come in large packets of which we keep on munching once they are opened.

Making a concerted effort to prepare a nutritionally balanced snack once or twice each day is the key strategy that will help you to keep your snacking under control when you do have easy access to the family fridge. One of the best options nutritionally is teaming wholegrain crackers with a protein rich topping such as cheese, tinned fish, baked beans or 100% nut spread.

Here the protein will help to keep you full in between meals, as opposed to snacks we graze on and your will keep your calories and portions under control. Even better, add some extra veges to top your crackers to further bulk up your crackers of choice.

Read more from the original source:
The best snacks to eat when you are working from home - 9Honey

March Mindfulness is Mashable's series that examines the intersection of meditation practice and technology. Because even in the time of coronavirus, March doesn't have to be madness.

I can't remember a time when I didn't agonize over what I ate.

Like many others, I believed I took up too much space no matter how much I weighed and it led to distorted eating habits. I'd log every bite in the MyFitnessPal app; photograph my food for a dedicated Tumblr blog; limit myself to 25 almonds a day; shame myself if I dared to go to bed full.

I believed that when I lost enough weight, my approach to food would shift overnight. I'd stop obsessing and I'd never overeat or emotionally eat, or eat "bad" food again. Despite being in the "normal" range on the Body Mass Index scale (even though BMI is bullshit), I wasn't one iota happier, and my food obsession remained.

That misbelief was, of course, a fantasy, but thankfully I discovered something that is actually helping me change my eating habits and, more importantly, my mental relationship with food: the mindful eating program on the Headspace app.

"Instead of focusing on what we put in our mouths, we are focusing on the why and the how."

Headspace is one of many meditation apps out there. I've tried plenty Calm, Buddhify, Stop Breathe Think but Headspace is far and away my favorite. (While this isn't sponsored, I do receive a premium Headspace subscription through my employer as a perk.) Like other apps, it has plenty of exercises for stress, anxiety, productivity, creativity, and sports performance. But what hooked me was its mindful eating program. It may not be for everyone some of Headspace's language around eating may cause a double-take but for me, the experience has been largely helpful.

I prefer Headspace over the others for several reasons, the biggest being that it lays out the practical reasons for meditating. It's difficult to sit in a lotus pose every day if you don't know how it can actually benefit your life. Headspace's tracks are organized by an array of applicable life pain points and then drilled down even further. For example, there are several "Anxious Moment" meditations dedicated to, say, interviews or difficult conversations. And, out of all the apps I tried, Headspace is the only one with dedicated tracks for mindful eating, like a pre-meal track or one for cooking.

Mindful eating is a form of meditation that teaches us to focus on our meals and how they make us feel. Mindful eating isn't about what you're eating, according to Headspace's Director of Healthcare Partnerships Sarah Romotsky.

"Instead of focusing on what we put in our mouths, we are focusing on the why and the how," Romotsky, who is also a registered dietician, said in an interview with Mashable. "The ultimate goal of mindful eating is to promote a more positive relationship with food and with ourselves."

Headspace offers a Mindful Eating "pack," a 30-day course that teaches you mindfulness techniques, as well as "singles," which are one-off meditations like "Eating Without Distraction" and "Eating With Appreciation."

I've completed the Mindful Eating pack and have kept using its techniques beyond the 30 days of the course. Here's what I've learned:

Traditional diets are focused on restriction, and, while some sources cite it as a way to lose weight, mindful eating is not. Diet culture fosters anxiety and fear around food, while mindful eating wants to reframe that relationship, Romotsky said.

While those who are recovering from an eating disorder should definitely consult a medical professional before incorporating a new food practice into their life, there is scientific research showing that mindful eating supports recovery from distorted eating.

Thanks largely to the body-positive movement, I knew that there is no "good" or "bad" food food does not have a moral value, and eating a food that is not "good for me" does not make me a bad person. But just being aware of a fact does not make it automatically sink in. Practicing mindful eating, however, made me realize that even if a food is not "good for me" in terms of nutritional value, eating it is not wrong and doesn't reflect on my value as a person. Labels I put on it are just that, labels I (or rather, my brain) put on it, thanks to years and years of absorbing diet culture.

"The one thing that people can do today to start promoting a better relationship with food and relationship with themselves overall is to change their terminology of good and bad," Romotsky said.

Each exercise in the Mindful Eating pack was 10 minutes long; I set aside time in the morning before going to work to complete it (and still do, just with different packs). While it may seem like nothing, it's anything but. As I progressed through the 30 days, I remembered the techniques I learned in those 10 minutes per day. Even if I forgot at the onset of a meal, I'd remember in the middle and pause to take some breaths. Speaking of forgetting...

Like meditation as a whole, mindful eating is a practice. The Headspace app actually put this reminder in a push notification: "It's not meditation perfect, it's meditation practice."

This stuff is difficult to learn, and expecting perfection from ourselves for whatever bullshit reason we create that it's "just in our heads," that we're not exerting physical effort so it must be easy is not only wrong, it is also going to backfire, and badly. This is an excellent opportunity for self-compassion: Be kind to yourself when you forget to take deep breaths or pause before eating. Beating yourself up into creating a new habit can work, but that's a habit in itself. Instead, create the habit of being kind to yourself. It's actually one of Romotsky's suggestions, so take an expert's word for it.

I've thought the same way about food for decades, so it's not realistic to think I can just unlearn those patterns after a few meditation sessions.

"Trying to unlearn something after 30 years of behavior is difficult," she said. "You can't expect a turn of a switch and have a better relationship with food and a better experience with food overnight." That being said, it is possible. It just takes time and self-compassion to get there.

Set realistic expectations for yourself, Romotsky suggests. If you have a full-time job not to mention children and familial obligations it's unrealistic to believe you will be on-point at mindful eating with every single piece of food you put in your mouth. Rather, the habit will become automatic over time if you keep up with it.

"It will become intrinsic, just the way everyone's current behavior of food has become autopilot," she said.

Practicing mindful eating and meditation as a whole has changed my perspective. I realize that I am not my thoughts, and my thoughts are not inherently true. Just because my brain labels a food "good" or "bad" does not make it so it is just the product of decades of diet culture and socialization. And if that is true of food, then many of my negative thoughts, such as those about my body or my intelligence or what have you, may just be that as well: thoughts. Not the truth.

If you've tried meditating once, you know it's hard. But that's part of the fun, or at least that's how I've learned to see it. Just as with learning any difficult skill, meditation has allowed me to look inward and learn more about myself and my habits, and how to promote more positive ones.

I started with mindful eating because I knew my relationship with food could be better. Now, I'm realizing that the practice has a ripple effect, quieting not only thoughts about food, but also thoughts of self-judgment and unrealistic expectations. Who knows what else it will bring? I'm excited to find out.

If you feel like youd like to talk to someone about your eating behavior, call the National Eating Disorder Associations helpline at 800-931-2237. You can also text NEDA to 741-741 to be connected with a trained volunteer at the Crisis Text Line or visit the nonprofits website for more information.

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6 Important Lessons That'll Change The Way You Think About Mindful Eating - Mashable India

Diets that contain a variety of fresh, nutrient-rich foods can help reduce feelings of fatigue. Such foods include kale, oats, and watermelon, among others.

However, some processed foods such as white bread and baked goods can worsen fatigue in some people.

Read on for more examples of foods that could help beat fatigue. This article also takes a look at foods and drinks to avoid, along with some general tips for boosting energy.

In general, foods that can help boost energy levels are fresh rather than highly processed. They also tend to be rich in nutrients.

Some examples include:

Whole eggs contain plenty of nutrients. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a typical egg contains 7 grams (g) of protein. It also provides 4% of the recommended daily intake of calcium and 6% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A.

Eggs are also a source of fats. According to the National Institute on Aging, fat provides energy and helps the body absorb vitamins.

Bananas are a good source of potassium, fiber, and carbohydrates. This combination of carbohydrates and fiber provides a long lasting source of energy.

In fact, according to one small study, trained cyclists who ate bananas performed equally to those who consumed sports drinks during a 47-mile time trial. The researchers concluded that bananas are a good source of energy, specifically before and during long periods of exercise.

Whole almonds are rich in nutrients such as fats, fiber, and protein. Both protein and fat provide a feeling of fullness and can help increase energy levels.

Almonds also contain vitamin E and magnesium. They make a great afternoon snack.

Watermelons are a great source of hydration. According to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, watermelons are 92% water and contain vitamin C, vitamin A, and many other nutrients.

Dehydration can increase feelings of fatigue. However, a review from 2010 suggests that proper hydration increases mental alertness and improves well-being.

Kale is a leafy green vegetable rich in vitamins, antioxidants, and iron.

Red blood cells in the body contain iron. This mineral is essential for carrying oxygen around the body for cells to use as energy. For this reason, low levels of iron can cause a lack of energy.

According to the USDA, 1 cup of raw kale also contains plenty of potassium and vitamin A.

Spinach is another green leafy vegetable rich in iron. It is also high in vitamin K and magnesium.

Spinach and kale make an excellent combination in salads.

Chia seeds are rich in nutrients. For example, 1 ounce of chia seeds contains 4 g of protein, 11 g of fiber, and 9 g of fat.

Fiber is useful for preventing blood sugar spikes around meal times. Rapid changes in blood sugar levels are another possible cause of fatigue.

Oats are high in fiber and complex carbohydrates.

The body can easily break down refined carbohydrates and use them to provide a short-term energy boost. Sugar is one example of a refined carbohydrate.

However, complex carbohydrates are more difficult for the body to break down. This makes them a longer lasting source of energy.

Some foods and drinks might increase feelings of fatigue. For example, foods that are high in sugar can temporarily boost energy, but this spike often leads to a dip immediately after.

Examples of foods that could increase fatigue throughout the day include:

There are also some general diet-related behaviors a person can try to help keep their energy levels up during the day. These include:

However, different people may respond differently to these strategies, and something that works for one person might not work for another.

Making some other lifestyle changes can also increase energy levels throughout the day.

For example, the American Council on Exercise suggest that regular exercise can prevent fatigue. A person should aim to exercise on 35 days per week.

Also, the National Sleep Foundation explain that a good nights sleep helps the body with:

These benefits can help maintain energy levels throughout the day.

Managing stress is another way to fight fatigue. Over time, chronic stress can cause symptoms such as tiredness and exhaustion. There are many things a person can try to reduce their stress levels, including meditation and exercise.

There are several foods that can help beat feelings of fatigue during the day. Look for foods that are high in protein, good fats, and fibers. Foods high in iron and other nutrients are also helpful.

It is best to avoid highly processed or sugary foods when trying to boost energy levels.

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Foods that beat fatigue: What to eat and other diet tips - Medical News Today