Category Archives: Diet And Food

World's First Clinical Trial Finds Diet Works for Depression Psychology Today (blog) Over the past seven years, she published numerous epidemiological (survey-based) studies suggesting that people who report eating an unhealthy diet are more likely to be depressed. However, since these studies were based on questionnaires and weren't ...

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World's First Clinical Trial Finds Diet Works for Depression - Psychology Today (blog)

Women's Health

'I Tried Going Vegan For A WeekHere's What Happened' Women's Health As food trends go these days, going vegan is about as cool as you can get. Not only does eating a diet of just plants promise to lower your cholesterol and make your skin look positively glow-y, but its devotees carry a certain aura of righteousness ...

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'I Tried Going Vegan For A WeekHere's What Happened' - Women's Health

The volume of bad answers, bad questions, noise and nonsense conspiring to hide the simple, fundamental truths about diet and health seems to swell daily.The task of generating a signal to be heard over this din grows more challenging in tandem.Among the cries populating the cacophony of misinformation is the contention that we know nothing not directly demonstrated in a randomized controlled trial.Much as I like RCTs, having run and published the results of dozens over my career, I consider this view misguided surrender to the tyranny of trial design.

Leaving aside the fact that some extremely impressive randomized controlled trials- with interventions spanning flexitarian diets, Mediterranean diets, and more - do, in fact, demonstrate the fundamental truths about diet and health, the simple fact is that we do not always need a definitive RCT to know what we know.

Suppose you wanted to know with something nearing certainty what specific dietary pattern was best for human health.How would you proceed?

Well, first, I think, you would need to define best in an operational (i.e., measurable) way.Does best mean lowers LDL in the short term, or does it mean raises HDL, or both?Does it mean it lowers inflammatory markers, or insulin, or blood glucose, or blood pressure?Does it mean it reduces body fat, or increases lean body mass?Does it mean all of these, or does it mean something else?Is the short term one month, or three, or a year?

I dont think any of these, or anything like them, really satisfies what we think we mean when we say best for health.I think the intended meaning of that is actually rather clear: the combination of longevity, and vitality.Years in life, and life in years, if you will.I think a diet is best for health and yes, I have wrestled with this very issue before- if it fuels a long, robust life free of preventable chronic diseases (e.g., heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, dementia, etc.) and obesity, and endows us with the energy both mental and physical- to do all we want and aspire to do.That, I think, is a robust definition of best for health.

We are obligated to wrestle comparably with the operational definition of a specific diet.Low fat, or low carb dont mean much.A low fat diet could be rich in beans and lentils, or made up exclusively of lollipops.A low carb diet could cut out refined starch and added sugar, or exclude all fruits and vegetables.Lets not belabor this, and simply concede that the relevant test to prove that one, specific dietary prescription (e.g., the Ornish diet, or the South Beach diet, or the DASH diet, etc.) is best is to establish optimized versions of the various contenders, from vegan to Paleo, and put them up against one another directly.

And now our tribulations begin.As we noted at the start, our outcome is the combination of longevity and vitality.To get at longevity, we need a very long trial; in fact, our trial needs to last a lifetime.So, just to get started, we are toying with the notion of a randomized trial running for 80-100 years.

Dietary influences begin in utero, so we should really randomize not our study subjects, but their mothers while pregnant with them.Dietary influences are salient during breast-feeding as well, and the composition of breast milk is influenced by maternal diet, so we need the mothers we enroll to agree not only to adhere to their assigned diet throughout pregnancy, but to breast feed exclusively until weaning, and adhere then as well.Only at weaning can our actual study subjects get in the game, adopting their assigned diet as babies.For our study to work, they too must adhere to the assigned diet, whatever it is, and in their case- for a lifetime.

Since we are randomizing participants, we may expect them to be alike, on average, in all ways other than their diet assignment- the very point of a randomized, controlled trial.Since we are comparing optimal versions of diets reasonably under consideration for best diet laurels, we may anticipate that our study participants are apt to be healthier, and longer-lived in general than the population at large, consuming the lamentable typical American diet.

Thats a problem too.If our entire study sample does well, it raises the bar to show that one of our diets is truly, meaningfully better than another.Consider, for instance, that those assigned to an optimal vegan, or an optimal Mediterranean diet, just to name two, have remarkably low rates of chronic disease- and we are trying to show a difference between them in the rates of chronic disease.The smaller the difference we are seeking, the larger the sample size we need to find it, and assign statistical significance to it (lets not belabor this point either; Ive written a textbook on the topic, so trust me- its true).That now means we need not only a RCT unprecedented in length, but unprecedented in size, too.We need to randomize tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of pregnant women to study the effects of competing diets on the vitality and longevity of their offspring- at a cost that is staggering to contemplate, and would certainly run into the billions of dollars.

This study has not been done.This study will not be done.Whatever you do, dont hold your breath waiting for it.

Lets contrast our ostensible need for this RCT to how we know what we know about putting out house fires.

First, there has never been, to the best of my knowledge, a RCT to show that water is a better choice than gasoline.Do you think we need such a trial, to establish the legitimacy of the basic theme (i.e., use water) of the right approach?Would you, and your home, be willing to participate in such a trial when you call 911- knowing you might randomly be assigned to the gasoline arm of the study?

I trust we agree that observation, experience, and sense serve to establish beyond the realm of reasonable (or, even, any) doubt that water is generally good for putting out house fires, and gasolinenot so much.

But what if, as with diet, we wanted to know the specific fire fighting approach that was best.Once again, we would need to define specific approach, which here might mean water at different temperatures, pH, hardness versus softness, and pressure.We might compare hoses of different calibers, and such.And we would need to define best, which here presumably means putting out fires the fastest, with the least damage to people and property.

Consider the size, cost, and inconvenience of a randomized trial to compare water at 40F versus 41F; or a slight difference in water mineral content.We would again expect variations on the sensible theme of fire fighting such as these to produce very tiny differences in outcomes, meaning we would need an enormous sample, a lot of time, and a lot of money to append this bit of specificity to the fundamentals we already knew.

My friends- and everybody else- diet is the same.The want of a RCT addressing this kind of water versus that does not mire us in perpetual cluelessness about the basic approach to putting out fires.Sure, we could do RCTs to add to what we know- but the want of such studies does not expunge what we already know based on empirical evidence, long experience, observation, and sense.

If anything, the fundamentals of a health-promoting diet are better substantiated than those of fire fighting, since they are informed by long experience, the observation of large populations even of entire regions, and even over generations as well as by a massive aggregation of research, ranging from mechanistic study in test tubes to RCTs enrolling people.We are the furthest thing from clueless about the basic care and feeding of Homo sapiens.Here, too, RCTs can append to what we know- but they are by no means the sole basis for it.

I dont know, frankly, whether an optimal vegan diet, or an optimal Mediterranean diet, or an optimal Asian diet, or even an optimal Paleo diet is the best for human health.I do know, because we all know, that a diet comprised principally of minimally processed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils and pulses, nuts, seeds, with plain water preferentially for thirst is the best theme for human and planetary health alike, and runs commonly through all the legitimate, specific contestants- just as water is the best theme when aiming a fire hose.

To conclude otherwise is to misconstrue the utility of randomized trials, succumb to their tyranny, and lose our way in a bog of tribulations.To conclude otherwise is to fiddle around while the house of public health burns down to the ground.

Senior Medical Advisor, Verywell.com

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Truth, And The Tribulations Of Randomized Diet Trials - Huffington Post

Regardless of your dietary intake, there is no question that getting the proper nutrition daily is important to health, wellness and longevity specifically a healthy, happy sort of longevity. But there have long been questions on what sort of benefits or detriments various standard diets can have, whether that is a standard omnivorous intake, vegetarianism or veganism.

With recent findings, advances in nutritional studies and a fresh eye on intake needs, Americans are finding entirely new ways to live healthy and regardless of your diet, what you put in your body is supremely important.

Julie Hersey is a nutritionist for Stop & Shop New England. She is a registered dietitian, and is passionate about healthy eating and nutritional intake, and her day-today life is never quite the same. Whether she is in-store working with customers to maximize their health through dietary intake, or out on the road working on events or at hospitals, she always has her mind set on healthy lives through healthy diets.

I grew up in a big Greek family and weve always loved food, said Hersey. Thats the center of my family. We always had gardens as kids, and wed be in the kitchen making a salad together. I grew up surrounded by home cooking. In high school I was an athlete, and realized the impact of not eating correctly, how that would affect me playing soccer and running for 90 minutes. I learned to make that connection. I took one bio chem class in high school and really loved the idea of how food impacts your body.

Hersey went on to attend Syracuse University, where she received her bachelors of science in dietetics and clinical nutrition services before an internship at the University of Connecticut led to her masters of science at the same school. While nutrition at the time wasnt as popular an interest as it would become, it was something she said she always felt passionate about, and landing in her current role as nutritionist at Stop & Shop was a dream come true.

This was my dream job, Hersey said. I had gotten to work at supermarkets when I was an intern. I wanted to work in the super markets. After I finished my masters I saw the job posting and I was so excited. I knew after a two-hour interview it went well. Most dietitians in a supermarket say its their dream job. Its a little bit of everything. You get to do counseling one one one, get out in the community and teaching people what to do with things.

On any given day, Hersey will teach nutrition classes to children, talk to kids and adults at hospitals, or work with customers within her home store. She also works with the media team doing events, and has worked in the past with the Patriots, Red Sox and more. While vegetarianism and veganism have existed for as long as humans had the ability to make decisions on their intake, rather than what they could forage or hunt around them, the past decades have seen an uptick in individuals classifying themselves as each.

For those unaware, vegetarians do not eat meat, while vegans dont eat meat or any other animal product, such as eggs and dairy. There are myths surrounding each. That it is impossible to maintain healthy nutrition as either is a common belief, and while that can be true without proper intake, vegetarianism, veganism and being omnivorous can all be healthy or unhealthy lifestyles.

You kind of have to sit down and talk to a dietitian to figure out what youre getting and what you might be missing out on, explained Hersey. Are you lacto-ovo? Do you have dairy? You might be OK with calcium and vitamin D. Are you eating eggs? You can be OK with B12. Not only vegetarians are deficient in vitamin D. Calcium is always a controversial one. A lot of dark veggies have calcium. Tofu is fortified in calcium. There are ways to get calcium in those diets, but also exercising is a good way to maintain your bone health.

The issue isnt whether or not any of these options can be healthy they can it is tailoring your intake to match your nutritional needs. For instance, vegetarians and vegans can get iron from plants, but that iron intake should be paired with vitamin C to be properly absorbed. Omega 3 Fatty acids are another area vegetarians and vegans may need help with, but they are not alone in that.

Vegans and vegetarians arent alone in needing omega 3 fatty acids, said Hersey. If you arent eating fish, you are getting it from plant-based sources like flax seeds and tofu and walnuts. The plant-based versions are a little tougher to convert. Fats are making a big comeback, picking the anti-inflammatory fats. Theyre really good for digestion and your joints.

While an omnivorous diet is the most versatile, and from a convenience perspective offers the most straightforward path to proper nutrition, there are difficulties inherent in that diet as well.

Were trying to get people to be more conscious of the portion sizes of meat and also the quality, explained Hersey. Thinking of protein more as a topping rather than the bulk of the dish. Think about the vegetables first. Breakfast is an occasion that most omnivores are not getting enough protein in the morning. Were a carbohydrate-heavy nation at breakfast. Bagels, waffles, bread, cereal. Protein in the morning helps your blood sugar not spike so high. We need to get more protein in that breakfast, whether thats eggs, or Greek yogurt or nuts.

Regardless of your diet, the choices you make in what you put in your body are still the most crucial components, and according to Hersey, that is the number one thing those looking to enhance their nutrition must come to terms with.

I think really, getting back in touch with the fact that food is your fuel, said Hersey. You are what you eat. Really understanding that. If you dont put good gas in your car, it doesnt run well. If you dont put any in, it wont run at all. Your mood, your organs and your skin, everything is affected. I think, mostly, I try to teach people just to live a better life, longer. Not just living long, but living healthy in that long life. You really want to be generally healthy your whole life.

Reporter Joshua Lyford can be reached at 508-749-3166, ext. 325, or by email at Jlyford@worcestermagazine.com. Follow Josh on Twitter @Joshachusetts and on Instagram @Joshualyford.

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Vegetarian, vegan or omnivore: Staying healthy, longer - Worcester Mag

The idea that organisms can live longer, healthier lives by sharply reducing their calorie intake is not exactly new. Laboratory research has repeatedly demonstrated the anti-aging value of calorie restriction, often called CR, in animals from nematodes to ratswith the implication that the same might be true for humans.

In practice though, permanently reducing calorie intake by 25 to 50 percent or more sounds to many like a way to extend life by making it not worth living. Researchers have also warned that what works for nematodes or rats may not workand could even prove dangerousin humans, by causing muscle or bone density loss, for example.

But now two new studies appear to move calorie restriction from the realm of wishful thinking to the brink of practical, and perhaps even tolerable, reality. Writing in Nature Communications, researchers at the University of WisconsinMadison and the National Institute on Aging reported last month chronic calorie restriction produces significant health benefits in rhesus monkeysa primate with humanlike aging patternsindicating that CR mechanisms are likely translatable to human health. The researchers describe one monkey they started on a 30 percent calorie restriction diet when he was 16 years old, late middle age for this type of animal. He is now 43, a longevity record for the species, according to the study, and the equivalent of a human living to 130.

In the second study, published this week in Science Translational Medicine, a research team led by gerontologist Valter Longo at the University of Southern California (U.S.C.) suggests it is possible to gain anti-aging benefits without signing up for a lifetime of hunger. Instead, a fasting-mimicking diet, practiced just five days a month for three monthsand repeated at intervals as neededis safe, feasible and effective in reducing risk factors for aging and age-related diseases.

Some researchers, however, still find the calorie-restriction argument unpersuasive. Leslie Robert, a biochemist and physician at the University of Paris who was not involved in the two new studies, says pharmaceutical approaches offer greater anti-aging potential than inefficient and apparently harmful diets. The important thing, adds Luigi Fontana, a longevity researcher at the Washington University School of Medicine in Saint Louis who also was not involved in the new work, is if youre doing a healthy diet, exercising, everything good, without doing anything extreme, without making life miserable by counting every single calorie.

Rozalyn Anderson, a researcher in the Wisconsin study, does not necessarily disagree. Life is difficult enough without engaging in some bonkers diet, she says. We really study this as a paradigm to understand aging. Were not recommending people do it. The combined results in the Nature Communications paper show aging is malleable in primates, she explains, and that aging itself presents a reasonable target for intervention. Whereas conventional medicine views aging as a fight against cancer, cardiovascular issues, neural degeneration and other diseases, she adds, calorie restriction delays the aging and vulnerability. Instead of going after diseases one at a time, you go after the underlying vulnerability and tackle them all at once.

Despite her reservations about recommending CR, Anderson praised the work of the research team in the Science Translational Medicine study for pushing this forward for possible application in clinics. In that study, test subjects followed a carefully designed 50 percent calorie restricted diet (totaling about 1,100 calories on the first day and 70 percent (about 700 calories) on the next four days, then ate whatever they wanted for the rest of the month.

Longo, the gerontologist at U.S.C., says the underlying theory of the on-again/off-again approach is that the regenerative effects of the regimen occur not so much from the fasting itself as from the recovery afterward. By contrast, long-term, uninterrupted calorie restriction can lead to the sort of negative effects seen in extreme conditions like anorexia.

The calorie-restricted diet in Longos study was 100 percent plant-based and featured vegetable soups, energy bars, energy drinks and a chip snack as well as mineral and vitamin supplements. It included nutrients designed to manipulate the expression of genes involved in aging-related processes, Longo explains. (Longo and U.S.C. are both owners of L-Nutra, the company that manufactures the diet. But he says he takes no salary or consulting fees from the company and has assigned his shares to a nonprofit organization established to support further research.)

Even the five-day-a-month calorie restriction regimen was apparently a struggle for some test subjects, resulting in a 25 percent dropout rate. But health benefits in the form of decreased body mass and better levels of glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol, along with other factors, showed up after the third month and persisted for at least three monthseven after subjects had returned full-time to a normal diet. Notably, given concerns about other forms of calorie restriction, lean muscle mass remained unchanged.

The benefits were greater for people who were obese or otherwise unhealthy, Longo says. But those individuals might also need to repeat the five-day regimen as often as once a month to the point of recovery, he adds, whereas individuals who are already healthy and athletic might repeat it just twice a year.

Neither of the two new studies argues the benefits of CR necessarily add up to a longer life. Longevity in humans is still an unpredictable by-product of our myriad variations in individual biology, behavior and circumstance. The objective, according to researchers, is merely to make the healthy portion of our lives last longer.

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The Hunger Gains: Extreme Calorie-Restriction Diet Shows Anti-Aging Results - Scientific American

Book emerges out of Russ Branjords journey from obesity to a six-pack.

by Joni Astrup Associate Editor Russ Branjord wears his wedding ring on the middle finger of his left hand because it would fall off if he wore it on his ring finger. Russ Branjord, before and after his extraordinary weight loss. Submitted photos

He could have it resized, but the oversized ring is a symbol of the victory hes won in his battle against weight. And, the ring often serves as an opener to talk to others about how he achieved lasting weight loss. Branjord, of Elk River, lost 100 pounds in 11 months when he was in his 20s. He shared what worked for him in his 2006 book, Spike Diet, which went on to show up on the top 100 sales chart for weight loss books on Amazon a few times. Now age 40 and still fit and trim, Branjord has just released a new book, Spike Diet X: Obese to Six Pack: How I Escaped Diet Hell. The cover of Russ Branjords new book, Spike Diet X.

Although he was active and athletic (he played semi-pro football while in his 20s), Branjord said he struggled with obesity from an early age growing up in Hugo, Minnesota. He hit 200 pounds before his 13th birthday. Middle school in particular was awful, as he was bullied and teased because of his weight. Branjord said he tried everything to lose weight and keep it off, but success eluded him. By age 26, he weighed 330 pounds and said he was on his way to 400. At 26 I gave up. I was tired of fighting it and trying so hard but not getting anywhere, like a rat on a wheel. I convinced myself that I would be happier if I would just accept who I am, that genetically this is who I was meant to be, he said. But while on a family vacation on the North Shore, Branjord was holding his young son one day and thinking about his future, wondering what he would tell him if he, too, went on to become obese and wanted to lose weight. That, Branjord said, restoked his motivation. When he and his family returned home, he started dieting. But after a number of weeks, Branjord hit a plateau where he stopped losing weight and food cravings started getting stronger and stronger. In the past, Branjord said he would have given up at that point. But he had recently become a Christian and found inspiration in several Bible verses, including one that says, Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Branjord said he also heard a voice telling him to give in, so he did. In one day he ate all the foods he had been craving, including doughnuts, pizza, two Dairy Queen blizzards and food from Burger King. I went nuts, he said.

The next morning, Branjord said his food cravings were gone and he could start over. When he weighed himself several days later, he was surprised to find he had lost 3 pounds. He repeated the process the next week, spiking one day by eating the foods he had been craving and then the other six days he watched his diet, chose healthy foods, stayed within his calorie range and did something active. By the end of the second week, he had lost another 2 pounds. I realized that theres more to losing weight than eating less and exercising more, he said. I started questioning everything that I was told about dieting. He came to realize that his metabolism slowed down when he dieted. In a nutshell, that one day off got my body back to normal again, he said. He found support for his ideas in the Minnesota Semi-Starvation Experiment done in the 1940s. The study found that after several days of caloric restrictions, metabolism slows down and cravings increase to stop the person from starving to death, Branjord said. It makes complete sense over the history of time because humans werent dying of overeating. They were dying of starvation. So, it makes sense that those two things would happen, Branjord said. He said when trying to lose weight, its very important to eat a surplus of calories one day a week a spike day. For him, the Spike Diet has been life-changing. My past life seems like its somebody else, he said. At 6 foot 1 inch tall, Branjord today weighs 200 pounds. His body fat is at about 10 percent. He enjoys lifting weights, playing basketball and playing with his kids. In his spare time, he performs in local theater productions. Author Russ Branjord with his daughter, Lucy. Russ Branjord with his daughter, Katie.

Branjord and his wife of 17 years, Nichole, have a 25-year-old daughter they adopted from foster care when she was 13, and four biological children ranging in age from 1 to 14. Branjord is the former club director of the Boys and Girls Club of Elk River who now works as a licensed loan officer for Movement Mortgage in Eden Prairie. He has a deep desire to share with others what has helped him, and offer them hope in the battle against weight. Branjord said 66 percent of the population is overweight and 95 percent of people who lose weight dieting eventually gain it all back. He had high hopes for his new book to widely disseminate his message. His publisher had approached him in 2011 to write Spike Diet X and promised him an ambitious book launch. As the October 2012 release date neared, a public relations firm set up a 12-city launch tour starting at the Barnes and Noble in New York City and finishing several weeks later in Los Angeles. Each city had network TV appearances and signings at large bookstores. But then, out of the blue, the publisher went out of business a few months before the release date, and all plans for the book evaporated into thin air. It was a heartbreaking setback for Branjord and he decided to let go of the dream of a second book. Eventually, however, he said he came to realize giving up on the dream for the book was like giving up on his dream to lose weight. He decided to refuse to quit and has now published the Spike Diet X through Amazon CreateSpace. The book is available through Amazon. The foreword is written by a physician. Branjord doesnt know where it will lead. But he feels if it helps one person transform their life, the journey will have all been worth it.

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Mainstreams: Escaping 'diet hell' - Star News

Scientists have recently become aware there's a connection between our gut and our brain. But just how deep does this connection go? Could we, say, treat depression just by adopting a Mediterranean diet? A new study suggests, yes.

Doctors have been prescribing diets to their patients as a preventative measure against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and now depression joins that list. We now have real evidence to back up whats good common sense: that eating well doesnt just benefit your body, but it also benefits your brain, says Columbia professor Drew Ramsey, who wrote, Eat Complete.

Ramsey represents a growing group of mental health experts who practice nutritional psychiatry. The idea of a gut-brain connection is one that has been gaining ground in scientific studies and some have started putting these ideas into practice. There's evidence to suggest certain foods influence the bacteria in our gut, which in turn influence mental health.

emeran-mayer-on-depression-and-the-mind-gut-connection

Its also important to note about 95 percent of your bodys serotonin is made in your gastrointestinal tract. Scientists are just beginning to discover this secret life of microbes and how much they influence other aspects of our overall health and wellbeing. But we can influence our microbiome with what we eat.

The brain is also directly affected by diet. Tryptophan is the amino acid that we use to make serotonin and dopamine, Ramseytold uswhen he came to Big Think.These are very, very important mood-regulating and learning-regulating neurotransmitters, or chemicals in the brain. And so the idea is to give people a core set of foods. You know, again, with every bite you're getting all the nutrients that your brain needs.

Researchers from Australias Deakin University led a controlled clinical trial which gives promising results towards suggesting dietary improvement guided by a clinical dietician may provide an efficacious treatment strategy for the management of this highly prevalent mental disorder. The researchers recruited several hundred patients with moderate to severe depression, 67 of whom participated in a 12-week parallel group trial. All participants had poor dietary quality when they entered the trail, meaning they ate empty carbs and nutrient-sparse foods, like pizza, pasta and baked goods what Ramsey terms the "beige diet" or the "12-year-old boy diet".

Ramsey explains the trial result that is exciting for the future of mental health treatment:

"The augmentation effect was quite robust for an adjunctive treatment. In the treatment group, about 32% of patients achieved remission, compared with 8% in the control group. In terms of risk-benefit profiles, a dietary intervention is emerging as a very safe and effective way for us to engage our patients."

The promising meal plan has been coined the Modi-Medi Diet or modified mediterranean diet and consists of legumes, leafy greens, colorful vegetables, a variety of quality seafood, quality lean red meat, fruits, olive oil, and nuts.Ramsey emphasizes that the quality of food, in particular of meat and seafood, is important which is often an area of concern for people trying to make a positive diet change: organic food is expensive. During the trial, the Australian researchers actually found that eating the right foods for optimal brain health is cheaper. "The average Australian spends $138 a week on food. Those who were taking part in the study spent just $112," says Ramsey. What is it about these foods that boost brain function and mental health? They contain nutrients the brain needs, specificallyomega-3 fats, zinc, magnesium, iron, and vitamin B12, which are "highly correlated with a lower risk for depression and dementia."

Its important to note, the field of nutritional psychiatry is still new, so you should not use this diet as a substitute for consulting a therapist if you feel depressed.

drew-ramsey-on-diet-and-depression

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Is Your Diet Fighting Depression or Intensifying It? - Big Think

Keshaslegal battle with Dr. Luke continues in court and in public, with the latest being aPage Six report that Keshas camp entereddocuments into court containing emails from Luke, intended to demonstrate that he belittled Kesha for her eating habits.The singer has previously said that Lukes comments about her weight caused her emotional distress and led to an eating disorder.

Most notably, the documents show Lukecontacting Keshasmanager, Monica Cornia, in 2012 to report that the singerwas eating diet coke and turkey while she was supposed to be ona juice fast.Per Page Six:

Nobody was calling anybody out, Dr. Luke writes to Cornia at 2:11 a.m. on June 28, 2012, according to a copy of the email.

We were having a discussion on how she can be more disciplined with her diet. there have been many times we have all witnessed her breaking her diet plan. this perticular [sic] time it happened to be diet coke and turkey while on an all juice fast, the producer gripes.

Cornia asks him to be more supportive because shes a human and not a machine, then adds, if she were a machine that would be way cool and we could do whatever we want.

Dr. Luke also reveals in an earlier message that A list songwriters and producers are reluctant to give Kesha their songs because of her weight.

Another portion of the exchanges concerns two potentiallyrics to Keshas 2012 single Crazy Kids, neither of which ended up making the song:

In one email, Cornia says Dr. Luke wanted the phrase, You see us in the club sip sippin bub, while Kesha preferred, You see us in the streets we da we da freaks, because she doesnt go to clubs.

I dont give a st what you want. If you were smart you would go in and sing it, Dr. Luke allegedly told Kesha, according to Cornia.

Recently, both Kesha and Luke sought to amend their respective lawsuit with additional countersuits. Lukes latest claims revolve around a separate rape allegation Kesha texted to Lady Gaga, while Kesha claims shes owed back royalties for Timber, her 2013 collaboration with Pitbull.

Update,February 16:Dr. Lukes lawyer, Christina Lepera, has issued the following statement toRolling Stoneregarding the email release:

Kesha and her attorneys continue to mislead by refusing to disclose the larger record of evidence, showing the bad faith of Kesha Sebert and her representatives, which is greatly damaging to them. It also shows the tremendous support that Dr. Luke provided Kesha regarding artistic and personal issues, including Keshas own concerns over her weight.

Rather than agree to a thorough disclosure, Kesha and her representatives improperly publicized, without Court permission, three out-of-context emails which do not present the full picture regarding the events they concern, Lepera continues. For example, these emails do not show that the lyrics of Crazy Kids were, in fact, rewritten at Keshas request. Any claim by Kesha to the contrary is deceiving the public just like her other meritless claims of wrongdoing by Dr. Luke. Dr. Luke looks forward to full vindication in Court.

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Dr. Luke Hounded Kesha Over Breaking Juice Cleanse With Diet Coke, Newly Released Emails Reveal [UPDATE] - SPIN

You don't need supplements to live a healthy life. If you exercise regularly, eat a balanced diet, get sleep, and avoid stress, you will prevent health problems while gaining muscle and losing fat. But the right supplements can absolutely take your health and fitness to the next level. Life happenssometimes you travel, sometimes you get sick, and sometimes you eat two pounds of french fries in one sittingand it's nice to have a little help.

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If you want a boost, read on for a list of health and fitness supplements you might want to consider taking. And if you want to avoid a wrongful death lawsuit, check out the supplements to avoid.

Most supplements that people "swear by" have as much scientific backing as the flat earth theory. Fortunately, fish oil has plenty of positive evidence behind it.

First, it helps your heart. The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and reduce the risk of death for people who have had a heart attack. Second, it can help cancer patients improve their quality of life. Third, fish oil offers anti-inflammatory benefits that reduce arthritis pain (and are safer than anti-inflammatory drugs).

If these health benefits aren't appealing enough, consider this: Research shows fish oil boosts how much fat you burn while exercising. One study even found that three weeks of fish oil supplementation slashed body fat by two pounds.

Inside your gastrointestinal tract, you have more bacteria than you have cells in your entire body. And while there are (obviously) bad bacteria, there are also plenty of good bacteria essential for health, digestion, and fighting off sicknesses.

Many of us, however, don't have enough good bacteria in our gut due to poor diets, stress, and even past illnesses. For those who don't eat fermented foods all the time, try supplementing with probioticsthose that contain plenty of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacteria bifidumand prebiotics, which feed the good bacteria.

Most supplements that people "swear by" have as much scientific backing as the flat earth theory.

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According to a recent study in the Journal of Nutrition, less than 3 percent of Americans get enough fiber. (Actually, most of us aren't even close.) But good levels of dietary fiber are associated with all kinds of health benefits like reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, several cancers, andof courseconstipation.

The best way to get fiber is to eat plenty of whole grains, fruits, and veggies every day. But for the moments you can't, keep a fiber supplement close at hand.

A lot of what we think we're deficient in is exaggeratedexcept for magnesium. Western diets tend to be low in magnesium despite the critical role it plays in the brain, heart, and muscles.

As for health benefits, magnesium supplementation can lower blood pressure (if you're at risk), reduce depression, enhance exercise performance, improve sleep quality, and protect against Type 2 diabetes. And if you have a deficiency, adding magnesium to your diet can increase testosterone too.

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If you lift weights and want to add more muscle, I strongly recommend some kind of protein powder. Everyone knows protein is needed for muscle growth; plenty of studies show that protein supplementation accelerates your muscle growth more than working out without it.

Granted, a chicken breast is probably better for you than a shake. But is a protein drink a simple and easy way to get everything you need for muscle recovery after a workout? Hell yeah.

Preworkouts are safe, just as long as you don't take too much. As researchers from UNC cautioned, "Adverse effects include gastrointestinal symptoms, cardiac arrhythmia, blood pressure increases, and potential effects on lipids and blood glucose." (Death is also a side effect.)

But are they worth it? The evidence still is inconclusive. If you're looking for a pre-workout boost, stick with the old fashioned cup of coffee or teait will give you gentle surge of energy without the heart attack.

Fat burners don't actually burn fat: They suppress hunger, elevate your metabolism, and raise your body temperature so you burn more calories. They also commonly include ingredients like caffeine, carnitine, green tea, conjugated linoleic acid, and capsicum. (There's decent evidence that capsicum, or pepper, is a life-extender when eaten alone.)

The evidence with fat burners, however, is dicey. Some research found a slight reduction in body fat while others cite dangerous side effects and urge caution. (Fat burning supplements are regulated as "foods" by the FDA, not "drugs," and can contain hidden ingredients.)

My advice? Ditch fat supps and use the ultimate fat burner: diet and exercise.

Anthony J. Yeung, CSCS, is a fitness expert and founder of groombuilder.com.

6 Fitness Myths That Do More Harm Than Good

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February 15, 2017 Gentoo penguin chicks at Bird Island. Credit: British Antarctic Survey

The longest and most comprehensive study to date of what penguins eat is published this month. The study, published in the journal Marine Biology, examines the diets of gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua) at Bird Island, South Georgia over a 22 year period and is part of a project investigating the Southern Ocean ecosystem and its response to change.

Penguin parents forage at sea returning to feed their chicks every day. The team, based at British Antarctic Survey (BAS), found that between 1989 and 2010 gentoo penguins ate approximately equal amounts of crustaceans, (mainly Antarctic krill, a small shrimp-like creature) and fish.

Twenty-six different prey species were found in the diet, including squid, octopus and 17 species of fish. The composition of gentoo penguin diets was variable from year to year, with krill the dominant food in 10 years of the study and fish in 12 years. Successful breeding (the number of chicks fledged per nest per year) was strongly related to the amount of krill in the diet, with few chicks fledging in years where krill was particularly scarce.

The team then compared the diets of gentoo penguins with those of macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolphus) also resident at Bird Island. Both species are able to switch to other prey when krill availability is low. However, where gentoo penguins have a broad and variable diet, macaroni penguins are specialist predators on krill. Their differing diets and foraging ranges allow the two penguin species to successfully coexist at Bird Island, South Georgia.

Lead author, Dr Claire Waluda, penguin ecologist at BAS says:

"Gentoo and macaroni penguins are important indicator species and monitoring changes in their diets can help us understand changes in the Southern Ocean ecosystem."

"This work highlights the importance of long-term data collection and supports the work of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which is responsible for setting catch limits for commercial krill and fish in the Southern Ocean. Their aim is to protect marine ecosystems and maintain sustainable levels of fishing in this region."

The paper summarises one of the longest time series of penguin diet currently available globally. Long-term variability in the diet and reproductive performance of penguins at Bird Island, South Georgia by Claire M. Waluda, Simeon L. Hill, Helen J. Peat and Philip N. Trathan is published this month in the journal Marine Biology.

Explore further: Study shows mixed fortunes for Signy penguins

More information: Claire M. Waluda et al. Long-term variability in the diet and reproductive performance of penguins at Bird Island, South Georgia, Marine Biology (2017). DOI: 10.1007/s00227-016-3067-8

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New study reveals what penguins eat - Phys.Org