Category Archives: Diet And Food

STRONGMAN Eddie Hall is bulking up as he heads back into competition.

Brit star Hall, 34, slimmed down from a whopping top weight of 434lbs for his heavyweight boxing fight with Hafthor Bjornson earlier this year.

4

4

4

4

He tipped the scales at 310lbs for the exhibition bout which saw Game of Thrones actor Thor come out on top.

Now Hall - who has 3.4m Instagram followers - is ditching his foray into the squared circle and returning to his strongman roots.

Later this fall, the strongman officially returns to the sport at the 2022Giants Live Worlds Strongest Nation competition.

It'll be the UK taking on the USA in the team-led event, with Hall a team caption for the Brits andRobert Oberstfor Team USA.

The event is all set for November in Liverpool, England and the 2017 World's Strongest Man is taking his prep seriously.

Although he's not looking to return to his 400lbs-plus days, Eddie is having to fuel his intense workouts with a new diet.

And that involves a lot of effort - as shown by a viral video he uploaded of his daily food routine.

With wife and usual chef Alexandra out on errands, it was up to the strongman to don the apron and cook his own meals.

He kicks off his day with a hefty breakfast shake, which provides around 700 calories of crucial early morning fuel.

Packed full of protein, the shake includes two hefty scoops of whey protein, peanut butter, one banana, chocolate spread, milk and a hearty helping of ice.

Training for Hall doesn't start until after lunch, which is when he really starts to chow down.

All about the protein again, the man mountain demolishes five chicken-filled wraps before his afternoon workout.

They provide him with around 1,500 calories and 80 grams of protein, with a further two wraps held back for after his training session.

Following an intense couple of hours in the gym, Eddie concludes his food marathon with two humungous burgers.

He packs two massive patties into buns along with sauce, tomatoes, cheese and bacon - before adding a whopping amount of home-cooked potato wedges.

In total, he guzzles 4,600 calories and 385 grams of protein during a typical day.

Eddie is looking forward after his boxing defeat to Thor in March, where he was dropped twice by the giant Icelandic star.

He told Men's Health: "Obviously, losing the fight is hard to take, but I think losing is a big part of life.

"I didn't win World Strongest Man first time around.

"You've got to take those losses, learn, go away, recoup and come back bigger and stronger.

"Sometimes, losses are better than the wins, because they really do shape you, and who likes somebody that wins everything?"

Read the original post:
Eddie Hall reveals his insane new diet as strongman piles on the pounds for return at Worlds Strongest N... - The US Sun

Introduction

Obesity is one of the important challenges in public health worldwide. It may cause damage to the function of human organs and systems and ultimately lead to other chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, osteoarthritis, and cancer.18 Over the last decades, the global prevalence of obesity has increased rapidly, approximately 11% of men and 15% of women were obese in the world.9 In 2015, the prevalence of overweight and obesity among Chinese adults were 41.3% and 15.7%, respectively.10 Obesity-related NCDs brought a huge economic burden in China, and obesity and overweight accounted for 11.1% of deaths associated with NCDs in 2019.11

The root cause of obesity is that the bodys energy intake is greater than the bodys energy expenditure, resulting in excess energy being stored in the form of fat although lots of risk factors for obesity were explored and identified including genetics, diet, physical exercise, and psychological factors in previous studies.11 Thus, dietary factors still play a key role in the process of developing obesity even though some previous findings were controversial over countries or populations.12,13

The traditional nutritional epidemiology researches generally explore relationships between one or several foods or nutrients and health outcomes. Recently, dietary patterns of the overall diet were occupied to assess the comprehensive effects of food or nutrients on human health, and they showed more effectively and precisely than traditional those.14 However, different dietary patterns varied widely over countries, races, and research methods.15 Previous studies showed that western and junk food dietary patterns increased energy intake and risk of obesity,16 while Mediterranean dietary pattern was considered to reduce triglyceride levels.17 Also, an association between Chinese traditional dietary pattern and obesity was reported in one research.18 However, most of previous studies were cross-sectional studies between dietary patterns and obesity,1820 and it was rare to explore prospective associations between dietary patterns and obesity with community population cohorts in China.

There were huge differences in food culture and diet behaviors over different regions, even in China, due to the geographical features and ethnic diversity.21 Thus, based on a prospective community-based population cohort in Guizhou province, this study aimed to explore associations between dietary patterns and incident obesity in Southwest China.

Data for this study were from the Guizhou Population Health Cohort Study (GPHCS), a prospective community-based cohort in Guizhou province, China.22 The baseline survey was conducted between November 2010 and December 2012, and it was followed up between December 2016 and June 2020. The inclusion criteria for subjects in this study included followings: (1) aged 18 years or above; (2) lived in these communities and had no plan to move; (3) completed the questionnaire and blood sample collection; (4) signed written informed consent before data collection. A total of 9280 participants were recruited at the baseline. Those who had obesity at baseline (n = 644), who lost to follow-up (n = 1045), and who had missing data (n = 1634) or incomplete dietary survey (n = 215) were excluded. Finally, the remaining 5742 participants were eligible for the analysis (Figure 1). This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Guizhou Province Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (No. S2017-02).

Figure 1 Flow chart of participants in this cohort study.

A structured questionnaire was done through a face-to-face interview by local trained health professionals. The baseline and follow-up questionnaire included demographic characteristics (age, sex, ethnicity, educational level, marriage status, and occupation), lifestyle (smoking status, alcohol use, and physical activity), history of chronic diseases, and dietary factors. Current smokers referred to smoking tobacco products including manufactured or locally produced in a month.23 Alcohol drinkers referred to drinking alcohol more than once every month within the last 12 months.22 Physical activity was defined as meeting WHO recommendations on physical activity according to the global physical activity questionnaire (GPAQ).24

Dietary data including frequencies and quantities of 16 food items (fermented bean curd, bean paste, pickles, oil, legumes, meat, fruits, milk, eggs, fish, potatoes, grains, vegetables, beverages, desserts, and fried food) consumed during the recent 12 months before the study recruitment were collected by a simplified Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Anthropometric measurements including height, body weight, and blood pressure were measured. BMI was calculated as body weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared (kg/m2). Obesity was defined as BMI 30kg/m2 based on the WHO BMI classification standard.25

In this study, factor analysis with eigenvalues >1 and varimax rotation was occupied to aggregate 16 food items into factors with food patterns. Four factors that explained most of the variances were determined based on scree plots and their loadings for the initial food items. The factor-loading matrix for the four dietary patterns and their food or food groups is shown in Table S1. Factor 1, named high-salt and high-oil pattern, was characterized by a high factor load of fermented bean curd, bean paste, pickles, and oil. Factor 2, named western pattern, was characterized by a high factor load of legumes, meat, fruits, milk, eggs, fish, and potatoes. Factor 3, named grain-vegetable pattern, was characterized by a high factor load of grains and vegetables. Factor 4, named junk food pattern, was characterized by a high factor load of beverages, desserts, and fried food. A summary score for each pattern was then derived and categorized into quartiles (Quartile 025th, Q1; 26th-50th, Q2; 51st-75th, Q3; 76th-100th, Q4) for further analysis.

The Students t-test and the Chi-square test were used for continuous variables and categorical variables, respectively. Person-years (PYs) of follow-up were calculated from the date of enrolling the cohort until the date of diagnosis of obesity, death, or follow-up, whichever came first. Because physical activity violated the proportional hazards assumption, the multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models stratified by physical activity were employed to determine the association between dietary patterns and incident obesity and to estimate hazard risk (HR), adjusted HR (aHR), and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Several variables were adjusted and controlled in the multivariable models: age (1829, 3064, 65 years), sex (male/female), Han Chinese (no/yes), education years (9/<9), current smokers (no/yes), alcohol drinkers (no/yes), diabetes mellitus (no/yes), hypertension (no/yes). Tests for linear trends across increasing quartiles of dietary pattern were performed by assigning median value to each quartile of dietary pattern. The sensitivity analysis was conducted after exclusion of participants with overweight at baseline. All statistical tests were two-sided and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. All analyses were performed in R software (Version 4.1.0; R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria).

The baseline characteristics of participants are presented in Table 1. Of all subjects, the average age was 45.06 15.21 years old and more than half were women. Most of them were Han Chinese and had 9 education years or longer. The prevalence of current smoking and alcohol drinking was around one-third, while the proportion of physical activity was more than four-fifths. There were significant differences in education level, physical activity, current smokers, alcohol drinkers, hypertension, and diabetes between men and women (detailed in Table 1).

Table 1 Baseline Characteristics of Participants

As shown in Table 2, four dietary patterns statistically varied over different age groups and physical activity groups. Men (53.6%) had higher grain-vegetable pattern scores than women (46.4%). Han Chinese had more chances to have western pattern and junk food pattern. Participants with less than 9 education years had lower proportions of high-salt and high-oil pattern, western pattern, and junk food pattern. Those subjects with hypertension or diabetes tended to have high-salt and high-oil pattern and junk food pattern. There were also significant differences in high-salt and high-oil patterns and western pattern among participants who were current smokers or alcohol drinkers.

Table 2 Participants Characteristics According to Quartiles of Four Dietary Patterns

During the follow-up of 40,524.15 PYs, 427 new obesity cases were identified and the incidence rate of obesity was 10.54/1000PYs overall. There were significant sex differences in the incidence rate (9.36/1000PYs for men vs 11.64/1000PYs for women, p = 0.004). The incidence rate increased with age and the age-specific incidence rates of obesity are displayed over sex in Figure 2. Similar sex differences were observed among those aged 30 to 64 years old (p = 0.010) or elders (p = 0.031). Also, the highest incidence rate of obesity reached 12.27/1000PYs and 9.8/1000PYs in both women and men aged 30 to 64 years, respectively.

Figure 2 Age-specific Incidence rates of obesity for Chinese adults over sex.

Abbreviation: PYs, person years of follow-up.

Note: **P < 0.01.

In the Cox regression model stratified by physical activity, associations between dietary patterns and incident obesity are presented in Table 3. Participants in the higher quartile of junk food pattern score were more likely to develop obese with the HR (95% CI) of 1.54 (1.162.02) and 1.44 (1.091.89) for the third and fourth quartiles, respectively. After the adjustment for covariates, both aHRs in the Q3 and Q4 group of junk food pattern increased slightly and were still significant. Also, the risk of incident obesity significantly increased with the score of junk food pattern (p for trend = 0.040). In addition, subjects in the Q3 group of western pattern had a significantly higher risk of incident obesity (aHR: 1.33, 95% CI: 1.011.75) compared to those in the Q1 group, and there was a marginally raised trend in the risk of incident obesity as western pattern scores (p for trend = 0.087). It was not found that there were any significant associations between high-salt and high oil pattern or grain-vegetable pattern and incident obesity. No significant interactions were observed between dietary pattern and main covariates, either. In the sensitivity analysis, the main results remained robust after exclusion of participants with overweight at baseline (seen in Figure S1).

Table 3 Associations Between Baseline Dietary Patterns and Incident Obesity

The prevalence of obesity has been increasing dramatically worldwide. As a leading risk factor for obesity, unhealthy dietary has been prevalent in China. During the follow-up of 40,524.15 PYs, the incidence rate of obesity was estimated at 10.54/1000PYs in this study population overall with a significant sex difference. Also, the highest incidence rate of obesity reached at 12.27/1000PYs and 9.80/1000PYs in both women and men aged 3064 years, respectively. Those findings indicated that there was a high risk of developing obesity in this study population, especially for women, which called the development and implementation of specific intervention for the prevention and control of obesity.

In the present study, four major dietary patterns were identified and then associations between four dietary patterns and incident obesity were explored among adult residents in Southwest China. The junk food pattern consisted of high consumption of beverages, desserts, and fried food. Likewise, the western pattern was characterized by high consumption of legumes, meat, fruits, milk, eggs, fish, and potatoes. We found that junk food pattern and western pattern were positively associated with the increased risk of developing obesity, while no significant associations between high-oil and high-salt pattern, grain-vegetable pattern and incident obesity were observed in this study. The results were consistent with the South Asian consensus on Nutritional Medical Treatment of Diabesity, which advocated for a hypocaloric diet and reducing intake of carbohydrates and saturated fats.26 Meanwhile, among Iranian women, it was reported that a low-carbohydrate diet was not associated with overweight and obesity.27

In China, the consumption of junk food such as desserts, beverages, and fried food is on the rise since the 1980s.11 In this study, the contribution of junk food dietary pattern to a higher risk of obesity was demonstrated, which was consistent with a Mediterranean prospective cohort design with a median 6-year follow-up.28 Previous studies revealed that during the frying process, excessive fat and calories tended to increase, and trans-fatty acids related to the risk of weight gain29 were also prone to be generated.30 Furthermore, the junk food pattern has a high intake of beverages and sweets, and the positive associations of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) to obesity were confirmed by Framingham Heart Study.31 A recent meta-analysis revealed that the consumption of SSBs increased waist circumference in adult populations.32 Also, a cross-sectional study33 indicated that fruit drink intake was significantly linked with a higher risk of obesity among women. In addition, added sweet or sugar foods were positively associated with BMI in the women.34 Excess sugar intake among sweets and desserts was a significant contributor to the development of overweight or obesity.35,36

Over the past decades, the socioeconomic level has changed dramatically in China, especially in the southwest region. The transition from the traditional dietary pattern characterized by a high intake of vegetables, grains, and legumes to the Western model had occurred.37,38 It was observed that western dietary pattern had a higher incident risk of obesity and there was a marginally raised trend in the incident risk of obesity as western pattern levels in this study. Several studies have demonstrated that Chinese who had a western dietary pattern were more likely to suffer from obesity.39,40 Some similar findings were also reported among children and adolescents.12,41,42 One of possible reasons might be that meat and meat products are rich in cholesterol and saturated fatty acids,43,44 which could increase the risk of suffering from obesity to a certain degree.45 However, Daneshzad et al46 demonstrated that there was no significant association between total meat consumption and obesity based on a meta-analysis of observational studies. Therefore, more prospective studies are needed to clarify the association between red meat and total meat, and obesity.

Moreover, given the topographical characteristics of the Guizhou region, a wide range of potato products, boiled, fried, or mashed, were widely consumed in the local area. As a staple food in the western world, potatoes, an energy-dense food, played a significant role in the western diet pattern, and contributed greater amounts of carbohydrates to the diet.47 Foods containing more starches and refined carbohydrates were positively associated with weight gain.48 A meta-analysis confirmed that weight change was positively associated with the consumption of potatoes (boiled or mashed potatoes, potato chips, and French fries).49 Halkjaer et al50 also reported that total potato intake was associated with the increase in waist circumstances in women. However, the evidence for a link between potato intake and the risk of obesity remains controversial.51,52

Based on this 10-year community population-based cohort in Southwest China,53 this study extended the evidence on the association between dietary patterns and incident obesity. Also, this study collected data through FFQ rather than 24h dietary recall to get long-term usual intake more accurately.41,54 However, there were some main limitations in the study. First, the outcome of obesity was only assessed by BMI and did not include those measures of central obesity such as waistline in this study, which may underestimate the incidence of obesity. Second, over several years of follow-up, the daily diet measured on baseline may be time-varying to bias our findings but we did not collect detailed diet information in the follow-up of this study. Third, Cox proportional hazards regression models were employed with the strata by physical activity to meet Proportional Hazards Assumption. In addition, some possible confounding factors such as medications, family history of obesity or genetic variants related to obesity were not collected in this study, which may bias the findings from this study. Our findings in this southwest Chinese population need to be confirmed or clarified by more prospective studies over different populations. For future studies, associations between diets and obesity measured by waistline or body composition should be explored, and genediet interactions on developing obesity should be considered, too.

In summary, there was a high risk of incident obesity among this Chinese community population of Southwest China. Also, four dietary patterns were identified in this community population of Southwest China, and junk food and western pattern increased risks of incident obesity. The findings provided new evidence for obesity prevention and control from the dietary perspective, especially for the Chinese population. Urgent intervention is called to be developed to promote a healthy dietary pattern and prevent the becoming obesity.

The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of the center of disease control and prevention of Guizhou Province (No. S2017-02).

Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects before the data collection.

This work was supported by the Guizhou Province Science and Technology Support Program (Qiankehe [2018]2819).

All authors made a significant contribution to the work reported, whether that is in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation, or in all these areas; took part in drafting, revising or critically reviewing the article; gave final approval of the version to be published; have agreed on the journal to which the article has been submitted; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

1. Lyall DM, Celis-Morales C, Ward J, et al. Association of body mass index with cardiometabolic disease in the UK biobank: a Mendelian randomization study. JAMA Cardiol. 2017;2(8):882889. doi:10.1001/jamacardio.2016.5804

2. Hansen L, Netterstrm MK, Johansen NB, et al. Metabolically healthy obesity and ischemic heart disease: a 10-year follow-up of the inter99 study. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2017;102(6):19341942. doi:10.1210/jc.2016-3346

3. Baena-Dez JM, Byram AO, Grau M, et al. Obesity is an independent risk factor for heart failure: Zona Franca Cohort study. Clin Cardiol. 2010;33(12):760764. doi:10.1002/clc.20837

4. Maggio CA, Pi-Sunyer FX. Obesity and type 2 diabetes. Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am. 2003;32(4):805822, viii. doi:10.1016/S0889-8529(03)00071-9

5. Riob Servn P. Obesity and diabetes. Nutr Hosp. 2013;28(Suppl 5):138143. doi:10.3305/nh.2013.28.sup5.6929

6. Zhang T, Chen J, Tang X, Luo Q, Xu D, Yu B. Interaction between adipocytes and high-density lipoprotein: new insights into the mechanism of obesity-induced dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis. Lipids Health Dis. 2019;18(1):223. doi:10.1186/s12944-019-1170-9

7. Di Angelantonio E, Bhupathiraju SN, Wormser D, et al.; Global BMIMC. Body-mass index and all-cause mortality: individual-participant-data meta-analysis of 239 prospective studies in four continents. Lancet. 2016;388(10046):776786. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30175-1

8. Saitta C, Pollicino T, Raimondo G. Obesity and liver cancer. Ann Hepatol. 2019;18(6):810815. doi:10.1016/j.aohep.2019.07.004

9. Wang Y, Xue H, Sun M, Zhu X, Zhao L, Yang Y. Prevention and control of obesity in China. Lancet Glob Health. 2019;7(9):e1166e1167. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(19)30276-1

10. Ma S, Xi B, Yang L, Sun J, Zhao M, Bovet P. Trends in the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity among Chinese adults between 1993 and 2015. Int J Obes. 2021;45(2):427437. doi:10.1038/s41366-020-00698-x

11. Pan XF, Wang L, Pan A. Epidemiology and determinants of obesity in China. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2021;9(6):373392. doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(21)00045-0

12. Liu D, Zhao LY, Yu DM, et al. Dietary patterns and association with obesity of children aged 617 years in medium and small cities in China: findings from the CNHS 20102012. Nutrients. 2018;11(1):3. doi:10.3390/nu11010003

13. Shin KO, Oh SY, Park HS. Empirically derived major dietary patterns and their associations with overweight in Korean preschool children. Br J Nutr. 2007;98(2):416421. doi:10.1017/S0007114507720226

14. Hu FB. Dietary pattern analysis: a new direction in nutritional epidemiology. Curr Opin Lipidol. 2002;13(1):39. doi:10.1097/00041433-200202000-00002

15. Yu C, Shi Z, Lv J, et al. Major dietary patterns in relation to general and central obesity among Chinese adults. Nutrients. 2015;7(7):58345849. doi:10.3390/nu7075253

16. Gven Y, nc E. The relationship between junk food consumption, healthy nutrition, and obesity among children aged 7 to 8 years in Mersin, Turkey. Nutr Res. 2022;103:110. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2022.03.004

17. Shively CA, Appt SE, Vitolins MZ, et al. Mediterranean versus western diet effects on caloric intake, obesity, metabolism, and hepatosteatosis in nonhuman primates. Obesity. 2019;27(5):777784. doi:10.1002/oby.22436

18. Zhang Q, Chen X, Liu Z, et al. Dietary patterns in relation to general and central obesity among adults in Southwest China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016;13(11):1080. doi:10.3390/ijerph13111080

19. Zou Y, Zhang R, Xia S, et al. Dietary patterns and obesity among Chinese adults: results from a household-based cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2017;14(5):487. doi:10.3390/ijerph14050487

20. Yuan YQ, Li F, Meng P, et al. Gender difference on the association between dietary patterns and obesity in Chinese middle-aged and elderly populations. Nutrients. 2016;8(8):448. doi:10.3390/nu8080448

21. Ruan Y, Huang Y, Zhang Q, Qin S, Du X, Sun Y. Association between dietary patterns and hypertension among Han and multi-ethnic population in southwest China. BMC Public Health. 2018;18(1):1106. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-6003-7

22. Cao L, Zhou J, Chen Y, et al. Effects of body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio and their changes on risks of dyslipidemia among Chinese adults: the Guizhou population health cohort study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;19(1):341. doi:10.3390/ijerph19010341

23. Yu Y, Chen Y, Wang Y, Yu L, Liu T, Fu C. Is the efficiency score an indicator for incident hypertension in the community population of Western China? Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10132. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910132

24. World Health Organization. Global Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ). Available from: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/ncds/ncd-surveillance/gpaq-analysis-guide.pdf. Accessed September 29, 2022.

25. World Health Organization. World Health Organization obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation WHO Technical Report Series; 2000:894.

26. Kapoor N, Sahay R, Kalra S, et al. Consensus on Medical Nutrition Therapy for Diabesity (CoMeND) in adults: a South Asian perspective. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2021;14:17031728. doi:10.2147/DMSO.S278928

27. Jafari-Maram S, Daneshzad E, Brett NR, Bellissimo N, Azadbakht L. Association of low-carbohydrate diet score with overweight, obesity and cardiovascular disease risk factors: a cross-sectional study in Iranian women. J Cardiovasc Thorac Res. 2019;11(3):216223. doi:10.15171/jcvtr.2019.36

28. Sayon-Orea C, Bes-Rastrollo M, Basterra-Gortari FJ, et al. Consumption of fried foods and weight gain in a Mediterranean cohort: the SUN project. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2013;23(2):144150. doi:10.1016/j.numecd.2011.03.014

29. Thompson AK, Minihane AM, Williams CM. Trans fatty acids and weight gain. Int J Obes. 2011;35(3):315324. doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.141

30. Bhardwaj S, Passi SJ, Misra A, et al. Effect of heating/reheating of fats/oils, as used by Asian Indians, on trans fatty acid formation. Food Chem. 2016;212:663670. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2016.06.021

31. Dhingra R, Sullivan L, Jacques PF, et al. Soft drink consumption and risk of developing cardiometabolic risk factors and the metabolic syndrome in middle-aged adults in the community. Circulation. 2007;116(5):480488. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.689935

32. Ardeshirlarijani E, Jalilpiran Y, Daneshzad E, Larijani B, Namazi N, Azadbakht L. Association between sugar-sweetened beverages and waist circumference in adult populations: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. 2021;41:118125. doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2020.10.014

33. Nikpartow N, Danyliw AD, Whiting SJ, Lim H, Vatanparast H. Fruit drink consumption is associated with overweight and obesity in Canadian women. Can J Public Health. 2012;103(3):178182. doi:10.1007/BF03403809

34. Deglaire A, Mjean C, Castetbon K, Kesse-Guyot E, Hercberg S, Schlich P. Associations between weight status and liking scores for sweet, salt and fat according to the gender in adults (The Nutrinet-Sant study). Eur J Clin Nutr. 2015;69(1):4046. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2014.139

35. Lampur A, Castetbon K, Deglaire A, et al. Associations between liking for fat, sweet or salt and obesity risk in French adults: a prospective cohort study. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2016;13:74. doi:10.1186/s12966-016-0406-6

36. Andres-Hernando A, Kuwabara M, Orlicky DJ, et al. Sugar causes obesity and metabolic syndrome in mice independently of sweet taste. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2020;319(2):E276E290. doi:10.1152/ajpendo.00529.2019

37. Du SF, Wang HJ, Zhang B, Zhai FY, Popkin BM. China in the period of transition from scarcity and extensive undernutrition to emerging nutrition-related non-communicable diseases, 19491992. Obes Rev. 2014;15:815. doi:10.1111/obr.12122

38. Wilson AS, Koller KR, Ramaboli MC, et al. Diet and the human gut microbiome: an international review. Dig Dis Sci. 2020;65(3):723740. doi:10.1007/s10620-020-06112-w

39. Cao Y, Xu X, Shi Z. Trajectories of dietary patterns, sleep duration, and body mass index in China: a population-based longitudinal study from China Nutrition and Health Survey, 19912009. Nutrients. 2020;12(8):2245. doi:10.3390/nu12082245

40. Xu X, Byles J, Shi Z, McElduff P, Hall J. Dietary pattern transitions, and the associations with BMI, waist circumference, weight and hypertension in a 7-year follow-up among the older Chinese population: a longitudinal study. BMC Public Health. 2016;16:743. doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3425-y

41. Zhen S, Ma Y, Zhao Z, Yang X, Wen D. Dietary pattern is associated with obesity in Chinese children and adolescents: data from China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). Nutr J. 2018;17(1):68. doi:10.1186/s12937-018-0372-8

42. Zhang J, Wang H, Wang Y, et al. Dietary patterns and their associations with childhood obesity in China. Br J Nutr. 2015;113(12):19781984. doi:10.1017/S0007114515001154

43. Laskowski W, Grska-Warsewicz H, Kulykovets O. Meat, meat products and seafood as sources of energy and nutrients in the average Polish diet. Nutrients. 2018;10(10):1412. doi:10.3390/nu10101412

44. Larsson SC, Virtamo J, Wolk A. Red meat consumption and risk of stroke in Swedish women. Stroke. 2011;42(2):324329. doi:10.1161/STROKEAHA.110.596510

45. Rouhani MH, Salehi-Abargouei A, Surkan PJ, Azadbakht L. Is there a relationship between red or processed meat intake and obesity? A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Obes Rev. 2014;15(9):740748. doi:10.1111/obr.12172

46. Daneshzad E, Askari M, Moradi M, et al. Red meat, overweight and obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Clinical Nutrition ESPEN. 2021;45:6674. doi:10.1016/j.clnesp.2021.07.028

47. King JC, Slavin JL. White potatoes, human health, and dietary guidance. Adv Nutr. 2013;4(3):393s401s. doi:10.3945/an.112.003525

48. Robertson TM, Alzaabi AZ, Robertson MD, Fielding BA. Starchy carbohydrates in a healthy diet: the role of the humble potato. Nutrients. 2018;10(11):1764. doi:10.3390/nu10111764

49. Mozaffarian D, Hao T, Rimm EB, Willett WC, Hu FB. Changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men. N Engl J Med. 2011;364(25):23922404. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1014296

50. Halkjaer J, Tjnneland A, Overvad K, Srensen TI. Dietary predictors of 5-year changes in waist circumference. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009;109(8):13561366. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2009.05.015

51. Aljuraiban GS, Pertiwi K, Stamler J, et al. Potato consumption, by preparation method and meal quality, with blood pressure and body mass index: the INTERMAP study. Clin Nutr. 2020;39(10):30423048. doi:10.1016/j.clnu.2020.01.007

52. Linde JA, Utter J, Jeffery RW, Sherwood NE, Pronk NP, Boyle RG. Specific food intake, fat and fiber intake, and behavioral correlates of BMI among overweight and obese members of a managed care organization. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2006;3:42. doi:10.1186/1479-5868-3-42

53. Chen Y, Wang Y, Xu K, et al. Adiposity and long-term adiposity change are associated with incident diabetes: a prospective cohort study in Southwest China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(21):11481.

54. Moghames P, Hammami N, Hwalla N, et al. Validity and reliability of a food frequency questionnaire to estimate dietary intake among Lebanese children. Nutr J. 2016;15:4. doi:10.1186/s12937-015-0121-1

Here is the original post:
Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and Risks of Incident Obesity | DMSO - Dove Medical Press

TOKYO -- Japanese YouTuber "GaaSyy," who was elected to Japan's House of Councillors on the ticket of the NHK Party, remains overseas and has not attended Diet sessions, with reports earlier this year that he was residing in Dubai. The head of the chamber's Committee on Rules and Administration has requested that he quickly return to Japan and appear in the Diet.

Many people may think that GaaSyy, whose real name is Yoshikazu Higashitani, should step down as a Diet member if he has no record of activities in his elected role. If he continues to remain absent it is possible that the upper house Committee on Discipline could discuss punishment including expelling him as a member of the chamber. But this is no simple matter.

Being voted in carries a great deal of significance for any candidate, not just GaaSyy. This is because it is the will of the people, which has the greatest value in a democracy. Diet members, in principle, have immunity from arrest during Diet sessions, though they can be arrested when caught in the act of a crime or when the house approves of it. This is stipulated in Articles 50 of Japan's Constitution, which states: "Except in cases provided by law, members of both Houses shall be exempt from apprehension while the Diet is in session, and any members apprehended before the opening of the session shall be freed during the term of the session upon demand of the House."

Article 51 of the supreme law further stipulates: "Members of both Houses shall not be held liable outside the House for speeches, debates or votes cast inside the House."

These constitutional stipulations are designed to protect the status of Diet members. It has been common throughout history and across the world -- not to mention in Russia -- for members of parliament to be arrested over words and actions that are unfavorable to the government. To ensure that such a thing never happens, Diet members in Japan are protected to a degree that may seem excessive at first glance.

Regarding the expulsion of Diet members, the second clause of Article 58 of the Constitution states: "Each House shall establish its rules pertaining to meetings, proceedings and internal discipline, and may punish members for disorderly conduct. However, in order to expel a member, a majority of two-thirds or more of those members present must pass a resolution thereon." A majority of two-thirds rather than a simple majority is a high hurdle, but still, there are deep-rooted views that this stipulation should be applied with caution.

The NHK Party says that GaaSyy is not returning to Japan because he will carry out his activities as a Diet member while living overseas. We cannot easily claim that his actions do not constitute political activities. There is a wide scope for determining what kind of activities are political. And if it turns out he is not doing his job satisfactorily, then the public has the option of voting him out in the next election.

Some people may say they cannot understand GaaSyy's approach, but if the principles protecting Diet members were loosened without caution, the move could return to haunt the country. While it is unthinkable for the current government to unfairly arrest lawmakers, we cannot rule out the possibility of a government that could do that surfacing in Japan in the future.

Parliamentary privileges stipulated in the Constitution act as a last line of defense to prevent the government's abuse of power.

(Mainichi political premier editorial division)

Link:
Japan YouTuber Diet member's prolonged overseas absence opens can of legal worms - The Mainichi - The Mainichi

DenisMArt/Shutterstock.com

Love CocaCola, but prefer to opt for a zero-calorie, sugar-free option? Then youve probably reached for Coke Zero or Diet Coke. Both are great alternatives to the original Coca-Cola, but what is the difference between the two?

If youre a Coca-Cola connoisseur, you may already know the answer to this question. Turns out, the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke really comes down to one thing: the taste.

The ingredients lists are similar for both products. They contain carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, and aspartame (among other things). But Coke Zero is formulated with the original taste of Coca-Cola in mind, while Diet Coke has a completely different blend of flavors, providing a lighter taste.

Sugar-free shouldnt have to mean having fewer options, Anna Wheeler, Health and Nutrition Manager at Coca-Cola Great Britain, wrote in an article answering this highly-debated question.

Diet Coke has a few ingredients that Coke Zero lacks (potassium citrate and acesulfame potassium), which contribute to its lighter taste. Coke Zero, on the other hand, contains citric acid, which Diet Coke does not, ultimately creating different flavors between the two.

So, while they sound similar and promise to accomplish the same thing: giving you a taste of Coca-Cola without the added sugar and calories, the blend of flavors is completely different. Can you taste the difference?

Are you wondering what the difference between Coke and Pepsi isnow? We got you covered there, too.

Read the rest here:
Whats the Difference Between Coke Zero and Diet Coke? - LifeSavvy

How is Aluminum Made?

Aluminum is one of our most widely-used metals, found in everything from beer cans to airplane parts.

However, the lightweight metal doesnt occur naturally, and producing it is a complex process.

The above infographics use data from the USGS, Aluminium Leader, and other sources to break down the three stages of aluminum production.

Each year, the world produces around 390 million tonnes of bauxite rock, and 85% of it is used to make aluminum.

Bauxites are rocks composed of aluminum oxides along with other minerals and are the worlds primary source of aluminum. After mining, bauxite is refined into alumina, which is then converted into aluminum.

Therefore, aluminum typically goes from ore to metal in three stages.

Bauxite is typically extracted from the ground in open-pit mines, with just three countriesAustralia, China, and Guineaaccounting for 72% of global mine production.

Australia is by far the largest bauxite producer, and its also home to the Weipa Mine, the biggest bauxite mining operation globally.

Guinea, the third-largest producer, is endowed with more than seven billion tonnes of bauxite reserves, more than any other country. Additionally, Guinea is the top exporter of bauxite globally, with 76% of its bauxite exports going to China.

After bauxite is out of the ground, it is sent to refineries across the globe to make alumina, marking the second stage of the production process.

In the 1890s, Austrian chemist Carl Josef Bayer invented a revolutionary process for extracting alumina from bauxite. Todayover 100 years latersome 90% of alumina refineries still use the Bayer process to refine bauxite.

Here are the four key steps in the Bayer process:

The impurities or red mud left behind in the alumina production process is a major environmental concern. In fact, for every tonne of alumina, refineries produce 1.2 tonnes of red mud, and there are over three billion tonnes of it stored in the world today.

China, the second-largest producer and largest importer of bauxite, supplies more than half of the worlds alumina.

Several major producers of bauxite, including Australia, Brazil, and India, are among the largest alumina producers, although none come close to China.

Alumina has applications in multiple industries, including plastics, cosmetics, and chemical production. But of course, the majority of it is shipped to smelters to make aluminum.

Alumina is converted into aluminum through electrolytic reduction. Besides alumina itself, another mineral called cryolite is key to the process, along with loads of electricity. Heres a simplified overview of how aluminum smelting works:

China dominates global aluminum production and is also the largest consumer. Its neighbor India is the second-largest producer, making only a tenth of Chinas output.

As is the case for alumina production, some of the countries that produce bauxite and alumina also produce aluminum, such as India, Australia, and Russia.

Roughly a quarter of annually produced aluminum is used by the construction industry. Another 23% goes into vehicle frames, wires, wheels, and other parts of the transportation industry. Aluminum foil, cans, and packaging also make up another major end-use with a 17% consumption share.

Aluminums widespread applications have made it one of the most valuable metal markets. In 2021, the global aluminum market was valued at around $245.7 billion, and as consumption grows, its projected to nearly double in size to $498.5 billion by 2030.

The rest is here:
Mapped: The 3 Billion People Who Can't Afford a Healthy Diet - Elements by Visual Capitalist

A new study led by Washington State University and Texas A&M University adds to a growing collection of evidence that bears are not carnivores. The research suggests that bears are omnivores like humans even though they are fed high protein diets like carnivores while in captivity.

Bears are not carnivores in the strictest sense like a cat where they consume a high-protein diet, said study lead author Professor Charles Robbins. In zoos forever, whether its polar bears, brown bears or sloth bears, the recommendation has been to feed them as if they are high-protein carnivores. When you do that, you kill them slowly.

The WSU Bear Center is the only research institution in the United States with a captive population of grizzly bears. Professor Robbins, who founded the center, has studied bear nutrition for decades. In a previous project, he and his graduate students discovered that grizzly bears gain the most weight when they are fed a combination of protein, fats and carbohydrates.

For the latest study, the researchers set out to investigate the food preferences of captive giant pandas and sloth bears by conducting feeding studies. Under human care, sloth bears are dying up to 20 years early, and there is a lack of data on their nutritional requirements. One theory is that the bears are fed too much protein, which is causing cancer and disease.

Consumption of diets with inappropriate macronutrient profiles has been associated with increased energy expenditure, ill health, failed reproduction, and premature death. Consequently, we conducted feeding and preference trials with giant pandas and sloth bears, a termite and ant-feeding specialist, wrote the study authors.

We found that giant pandas are low-protein, high-carbohydrate omnivores, whereas sloth bears are low-protein, high-fat omnivores. The preference for low protein diets apparently occurred early in the evolution of ursids and may have been critical to their world-wide spread.

When presented with unlimited avocados, baked yams, whey and apples, the sloth bears almost exclusively preferred the fat-rich avocados. The exports said that this high-fat, low-carb diet is similar to their wild diet of termites and ants as well as their eggs and larvae.

The researchers also found that giant pandas preferred the carbohydrate-rich bamboo culm found in the woody stalks over the more protein-rich leaves. The results of the study suggest that, when given the chance, bears know what to eat to maximize their health and fitness.

Theres certainly this long-standing idea that humans with PhDs know a lot more than a sloth bear or a brown bear, said Robbins. All of these bears started evolving about 50 million years ago, and in terms of this aspect of their diet, they know more about it than we do. Were one of the first to be willing to ask the bears: What do you want to eat? What makes you feel well?

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

Check us out on EarthSnap, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

Read more from the original source:
Bears are not carnivores, and they crave a healthy diet - Earth.com

According to a new study published this month in the Journal of Affective Disorders, vegetarians experienced depressive episodes twice as often as those who ate meat.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics explains that vegetarianism is defined in various ways, with some people opting to still consume dairy and/or eggs. However, the common thread in all forms of vegetarianism is the avoidance of meat.

Vegans, on the other hand, do not eat any animal products at all, including honey.

There are many reasons that people choose to eat a meatless diet, including ethical considerations, concern for the environment, religious beliefs, and health benefits.

The survey looked at 14,216 people in Brazil between the ages of 35 to 74. A food frequency questionnaire was used to determine whether people followed a meatless diet.

A diagnostic tool called the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R) was used to determine whether people had episodes of depression.

The researchers found, upon analysis of the data, that meatless diets were associated with twice the frequency of depressive episodes. Further, this association was independent of socioeconomic factors as well as lifestyle factors like smoking, alcohol intake, physical activity levels, and body mass index (BMI). The exact reason for these findings is unclear.

Mary Mosquera-Cochran, a registered dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center who was not a part of the study, said that due to the way the study was designed analyzing data rather than conducting a controlled experiment it cant be concluded whether a meatless diet actually does cause depression.

The researchers found that diet quality was somewhat associated with higher rates of depression, but it did not fully explain the association, said Cochran.

She further explained that the researchers hypothesized that this link might exist because people who are depressed are more likely to try dietary changes (like cutting out meat, for example) because they are hoping to feel better.

Cochran said that the study was done on Brazilian citizens, so it also may not apply to other populations.

She additionally pointed out the fact that it was only a very small percentage of people in the sample studied were actually vegetarians 82 people out of around 14,000 total.

The authors note that its currently estimated that 5-14% of Brazilians currently follow a vegetarian style diet, so this sample may not be reflective of all vegetarians in Brazil either, said Cochran.

Though the authors also note that they adjusted for factors like protein and micronutrient intake, concluding that they believe nutrient deficiencies do not explain this association, other experts disagree.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson Monique Richard, said meatless diets and depression could be linked for a variety of reasons, with one being nutrient deficiencies.

Whenever an individual excludes an entire food group, in this case, protein and fat sources, and does not replace it with equally nutritionally-adequate options, it will affect a variety of systemic and physiological functions such as cognitive health, she said, noting that it is important to look deeper into the dietary patterns of these individuals to learn whether this might have been the case.

If an individual does not have an adequate intake of nutrients such as B12, omega-3 fatty acids, and protein, certain enzymes and proteins may be compromised, altering specific pathways in the body, said Richard. This could affect mood, anxiety, memory, perceived stress, sleep, etc.

As an example, she cites the amino acid tryptophan, which is needed to make serotonin, an important neurotransmitter that has been linked to mood disorders like depression.

Tryptophan is found in meat as well as oats, nuts, and seeds, explained Richard. But its important that people are educated on what foods contain it and how to consume enough to meet their own personal needs.

Other factors that would be important to assess would be if the person felt isolated or disconnected from others related to their dietary choice, said Richard. Is there a personal, religious, or moral consideration for the choice that may also be contributing to these feelings and state of mind?

Dr. Mary-Jon Ludy, Chair of the Department of Public and Allied Health and Associate Professor of Food and Nutrition at Bowling Green State University, advised that [w]ith or without meat, it is important to follow a healthy, high quality eating pattern that is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein.

Eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods as well as limiting added sugars, solid fats, and sodium is key, she said.

According to Samantha Coogan, Program Director of the Didactic Program in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the main vitamins and minerals of concern when it comes to depression are the B vitamins, zinc, magnesium, and selenium.

Vitamin B12, in particular, is only found in animal products, said Coogan. However, it, along with other B complex vitamins, are responsible for mood regulation and brain function.

B vitamins can be found in fortified breakfast cereals, and B12 in fish, eggs, meat, and milk products, she said. Additionally, most people who dont eat meat will need to take a B12 supplement.

She further notes that a B complex supplement may be a better option since youll get the amount of B12 that you need along with the other B vitamins.

Zinc may play a role in endocrine pathways that may lead to increased levels of cortisol, and the regulation of neurotransmission as a potential mechanism of action, so a deficiency could disrupt usual neurotransmitter firing/signaling to other areas of the body, such as elevating the expression of the hippocampus and decreasing cortisol, explained Coogan.

She noted that zinc is mainly found in red meat, crab, and oysters, making it difficult for a vegan or vegetarian to get enough. However, it can also be found in nuts, whole grains, fortified cereals, and dairy products.

Coogan further explained that magnesium is responsible for the activation of more than 300 enzyme systems that play important roles in brain function.

Low magnesium can lead to inflammation, dysregulation of oxidative pathways possibly inducing oxidative stress, and may dysregulate the release of serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, and sleep cycles (i.e. interrupting sleep/insomnia), she said.

But, when it comes to getting enough magnesium, plant eaters are in luck, according to Coogan. This important mineral is found mostly in plant-based foods, including leafy greens, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.

Lastly, selenium deficiency can cause thyroid dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative stress, and dysregulation of important mood regulators like serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenaline.

Selenium is primarily found in seafood, poultry, meat, eggs, and fish, said Coogan. However, it can also be found in bread and grains.

Ludy concluded by stating, If in doubt, meeting with a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) can be a great resource for planning a well-balanced diet.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics maintains a database of RDNs on its website, or you can ask your primary care provider for a referral.

See the original post here:
Experts Have Beef with Study Linking Depression and Vegetarian Diet - Healthline

Gary, an 8-week-old puppy in California, fights a Diet Coke can in his front yard. (Lois Gray via Twitter)

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

THE FRONT YARD Utah is known for its love of soda. From Swig to Sodalicious, it's easy to get your hands on a "dirty" Diet Coke a Diet Coke with coconut syrup, a lime and a splash of half and half.

Some Utahns have even started making their dirty Diet Cokes at home, splurging on pebble ice machines and ordering the syrups for themselves.

From time to time usually around Jan. 1 people have made a goal to steer away from the bubbly drink with different levels of success. One puppy in California decided to battle against soda just like those goal-oriented Utahns. But was it successful?

Gary, our 8 week old terrier foster puppy, takes on this innocent Diet Coke can in a fierce battle. It's the intersection of @darth and @jenntakahashi content, basically.

Spoiler: The pup wins. pic.twitter.com/Iqq2Cl9uMw

Gary, an 8-week-old dog, spotted a can of Diet Coke near his house and the battle commenced. After attempting and failing to fit the can in his mouth and defeat it by sheer force, Gary had to try a new strategy scaring it to death with his fierce bark.

Is this a case of a dog's bark being worse than its bite? I'm not sure. While Gary's owner thought Gary won, the can seems pretty intact to me.

Gary's unconquerable puppy spirit still remains after the battle, so for now we will say he was victorious. And for those of us still battling against Diet Coke, we can take inspiration from Gary's no-quit attitude. If the first strategy doesn't work, there's probably another way!

Lisi Merkley is a news producer for KSL.com. Prior to joining KSL in May 2021, she was editor in chief of The Daily Universe at Brigham Young University, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and Spanish.

Read the original post:
Have You Seen This? Puppy takes on fierce enemy Diet Coke - KSL.com

Hydration is one of the main aspects of being healthy and fit. But we must all agree, if there is one thing we take for granted, is drinking enough water. Water is certainly the elixir of life, yet we neglect to have sufficient water.

Lack of hydration can lead to various health issues such as headache, fatigue, low blood pressure, skin concerns, and many more. A well-hydrated body helps all the organs to function properly and also aids in releasing toxins from the body. So, consuming water is extremely important and beneficial for health.

Well, if you are someone who is not a conscious water drinker, then we have got a solution for you. You can give your body much-needed hydration through fruits as well. Fruits are not only loaded with vitamins, minerals, and enzymes but there are fruits that are high in water content that keeps the body hydrated.

Also Read:5 Quick And Easy Fruit-Based Recipes You Must Add To Your Weight Loss Diet

Apples contain almost 86% water, hence it is a great fruit to consume to add hydration to your body. Apples are not just delicious but consuming them regularly can help with heart health, blood sugar levels, and many more. Include apple as a part of your breakfast or munch on it as a snack, it will help you to keep your water level in check.

Watermelon is one of the most popular hydrating fruits. It contains 96% water, hence watermelon is a favorite fruit to have during summers to quench thirst. Apart from being heavy on water content, watermelons contain vitamins A and C which are essential vitamins for the body. Also, watermelons are low on calories making them the perfect snack for people who are on their weight loss journey. Watermelon smoothie can be a great breakfast option that will keep you full and also will act as the perfect alternative for water.

Containing 88% of water, papaya is another excellent source of water for the body. It also comes with the goodness of vitamins C, A, E, and antioxidants. Consumption of papaya significantly improves heart health, fights against inflammation, and aids in digestion as well. You can have a few papaya slices on their own or add some to your fruit bowl.

Oranges are filled with health benefits and one of them has to be providing hydration to the body due to its high water content. A very potent source of vitamin C and potassium, oranges are great to build a strong immune system. Oranges also aid in getting clear and bright skin. Have it as an afternoon snack or squeeze out an orange for a refreshing juice to get the maximum benefits of oranges.

Strawberries have 91% water in them. These tasty fruits have multiple health benefits. Strawberries are packed with fiber, manganese, vitamin C, and folate which are beneficial for a healthy body. Since strawberries are high in fiber they aid in digestion. It prevents inflammation as well which can further protect you from heart risks. Make a delicious strawberry smoothie or add them to your salad, and enjoy the health benefits of strawberries.

Never keep your body deprived of water. Add these hydrating fruits to your daily diet and always be hydrated.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Read more here:
5 Fruits To Add To Your Diet To Stay Hydrated - NDTV Food

Getting children to eat a balanced and healthy diet is a challenge for most parents. From limited food preferences, developing tastes and tantrums to being plain restless, there are several reasons why children struggle to finish a plate of healthy food.

While the basics of a healthy diet remain the same for all age groups - eat mostly fruits and vegetables, followed by carbohydrates such as whole grains, then dairy and fats - children need more calcium for their growing bones, protein for increasing muscle mass and antioxidants to enhance their immunity. Children grow about 2.5 inches (6 to 7 centimetres) each year and gain about 2-3 kg per year until puberty starts, which means they need plenty of nutrition.

Also Read:11 Best Healthy Recipes | Easy Healthy Recipes

Prakriti Poddar, spokesperson, RoundGlass Living, recommends four Indian ingredients that can give your child the extra edge to grow and live with health and happiness. As a mother of three young children, she is more than familiar with the challenges of getting children to eat healthy and how their diet can be optimized to provide adequate nutrition. Include these ingredients in their regular diet and see your little one bloom into a healthy young adult.

This bright-coloured sour fruit grows mainly in the Western Ghats, and is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties and even anti-cancer activity. The fruit is packed with anthocyanins, antioxidants that give it its rich colour and anti-inflammatory properties. It helps in boosting the immunity of children and keeps their gut healthy.

How to use: Consume it in form of a juice prepared by soaking kokum overnight and then extracting its juice. Add kokum to curries and dals for a dash of sourness and health.

This unique ingredient looks like ginger, tastes like raw mango and belongs to the turmeric family. It is a rich source of antioxidants and nutrients and is used in traditional medicinal systems as an appetizer, anti-pyretic, emollient, expectorant and laxative. This means it can help with common health challenges faced by growing children, such as frequent coughs and colds as well as constipation. Called aamba haldi in Hindi, mango ginger also has anti-inflammatory properties that help in healing skin injuries and skin diseases.

How to use: Mango ginger is mostly used as a pickle. Its juliennes can be added to soups and salads or used to prepare the salad dressing. Or prepare a chutney using mango ginger and other complimentary ingredients.

This flowering plant from the mint family is an integral part of Indian culture and holds religious and culinary significance for many communities. But its nutritional properties make it an essential ingredient to include in the diet of children. For instance, tulsi contains powerful nutrients like vitamin C that help boost the immune system of children. Eugenol, an antioxidant, helps fight skin disorders such as acne that frequently affect adolescents. It also helps in reducing cold and congestion in the chest. Its anti-inflammatory properties make it a soothing ingredient for the seasonal fevers that commonly afflict children.

How to use: Add some leaves to boiling water to make herbal tea and offer it to your child daily to help maintain immunity. Rub tulsi oil on the skin of your child to keep her safe from mosquito bites when she goes out to play.

This relatively less-known root grows in the Himalayan region, as well as in coastal areas. It has many skin-healing properties that can be handy for managing teen acne and other skin disorders. It has blood-purifying properties that can prevent the appearance of pimples. In addition, it could potentially also be used to manage blood sugar in children with co-morbidities.

How to use: Dried roots can be brewed in hot water to make herbal tea which can be consumed as per requirement. Your child may initially find its herb.

Author Bio:Prakriti Poddar is Global Head, Mental Health and Wellbeing, RoundGlass, a global Wholistic Wellbeing organisation where she is actively involved in creating an integrated platform for Wholistic Wellbeing.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

View original post here:
4 Indian Ingredients To Include In The Diet Of Children To Ensure Growth And Health - NDTV Food