Countless studies underline the importance of eating a healthy, balanced diet to ward off the risk of a wide range of chronic diseases, all of which pose a threat to your life expectancy. Following a heart-healthy diet is often singled out as one of the best defenses against mortality because heart disease is one of the main causes of death in the UK. The focus on the type of foods you should eat has often overshadowed another important factor - how often you should eat.

Attempting to fill in the gaps, a recent study set out to investigate the link between fasting and longevity, and the result makes a forceful case for intermittent fasting.

According to an animal study, carried out by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), intermittent fasting may boost longevity.

A group of scientists from the NIA, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana found that increasing time between meals improved the overall health of male mice and lengthened their lives compared to mice that ate more frequently.

Bolstering the finding, the health benefits were independent of what the mice ate or how many calories they consumed.

READ MORE:How to get rid of visceral fat: Three diet tips to reduce the harmful belly fat

This study showed that mice who ate one meal per day, and thus had the longest fasting period, seemed to have a longer lifespan and better outcomes for common age-related liver disease and metabolic disorders, said NIA Director Richard Hodes, M.D.

Commenting on the finding, lead author, Rafael de Cabo, Ph.D said: Prolonged, daily fasting times could help improve health and survival for humans, but scientists are working to find out how long you need to fast every day to see some of the benefits seen in the animals. That's the next big question to answer."

In addition, fasting has been shown to improve mechanisms that can lead to life-threatening complications in human subjects too.

One small study revealed that eight weeks of alternate-day fasting reduced levels of bad LDL cholesterol and blood triglycerides by 25 percent and 32 percent respectively.

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LDL cholesterol and triglycerides are types of fat found in the body, and, as the American Heart Association explained: A high triglyceride level combined with high LDL (bad) cholesterol or low HDL (good) cholesterol is linked with fatty buildups within the artery walls, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Another study in 110 obese adults showed that fasting for three weeks under medical supervision significantly decreased blood pressure, as well as levels of blood triglycerides, total cholesterol and bad LDL cholesterol.

High blood pressure can also act as a catalyst for deadly cardiovascular complications, posing a risk to longevity.

In addition, one study in 4,629 people associated fasting with a lower risk of coronary artery disease, as well as a significantly lower risk of diabetes, which is a major risk factor for heart disease.

Mounting evidence also shows that exercise plays an essential role in extending your lifespan, and a large population-based cohort study showed that the benefits to longevity extend across all ages.

The analysis revealed that, "regardless of past activity levels," people who increased their activity levels over time were less likely to die from any cause than people who were "consistently inactive, noted the study researchers

The optimal health benefits were seen among individuals who had high physical activity levels at the start of the study and increased them over time.

People who upped their fitness levels over time were 42 percent less likely to die prematurely from any cause.

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How to live longer: Best diet to increase life expectancy - how often should you eat? - Express

Express News Service

BENGALURU:As a newly-turned vegetarian, Sonu Nigam has a lot of respect for those who are doing their bit to spread the idea of veganism and meat-free diet.

On Tuesday, he was in town with his sister Meenal Nigam for a private party hosted by JustBe cafe a vegan restaurant at Sadashivnagar which also saw a couple of close-knit friends and acquaintances of Nidhi Nahata, health coach and founder of the cafe. Congratulating Nahata on her venture, Sonu said, People generally try to make their food delicious with unhealthy stuff, but what you are doing is wonderful.

With his Bollywood chartbusters playing in the background, Sonu interacted with the guests, many of whom happened to be artistes and authors, with the latter gifting him their books as a token of praise and love for the singer. One of them was a woman pilot, which impressed Sonu, and he laughed, saying pilots are an important part of his life. You land us safely, thats the biggest gift of all, he added.

Taking to CE about her older brother, and how the two of them influenced each other, Meenal said, His influence was more on me because of his popular personality. He was a wise person from an early age. He would tell us how you have to be a little devoted towards whatever you do, and that itll eventually give you results but youve got to stick to it. Meenal, who is a Bengaluru-based yoga practitioner, called Sonu her guru, adding, His dedication towards my parents and his profession has given me important lessons.

See the rest here:
Looking for healthy eating options in Bengaluru? This might just be the cafe you're looking for - The New Indian Express

Many diets out there claim to help you lose weight, feel great, or even cure cancer. We see them on TV shows (sometimes touted by medical doctors!), in magazine ads, in social media and beyond. Maybe you have friends who say they are going keto or nightshade-free. Theres a lot of information out there and, unfortunately, its not all backed by science.

Whether you are trying to prevent cancer, recover from it, or just stay healthy before you make changes to your diet, its important to understand whats behind the craze.

In our upcoming Hype Guide, PCF analyzes the good and the bad, the fad and the craze, behind all of the latest nutrition trends. Below is a sneak peak of whether the anti-angiogenic diet, popularized in a 2018 Newsweek story (among others) has any scientific weight behind it.

Diet name: Anti-angiogenic

What it is: Angiogenesis is the normal bodily process of developing blood vessels. Because tumors rely on the development of a blood supply for growth, cancer growth is dependent on this process. Therefore, this diet aims to prevent the growth of blood vessels that feed nutrients to cancer cells by targeting foods with anti-angiogenic properties.

Why it Seems to Work: Molecules found in specific fruits, vegetables and herbs have been shown to suppress angiogenesis. In an extreme form of the diet, by solely eating foods such as berries, cruciferous veggies, green tea, and garlic, people believe they can starve cancer cells by cutting off the blood supply that feeds them.

Reality: For the most part, the ability of anti-angiogenic foods to inhibit tumor growth has yet to be investigated in large, rigorous clinical trials in humans. Much of the research so far has been conducted in cell samples or animal models. This diet also may promote a very narrow view of healthy eating. While anti-angiogenic foods are components of a healthy, balanced diet, its important to include a broad range of high-fiber whole foods rather than cherry-picking (pun intended!) a few supposedly standout anti-angiogenic examples.

Stay tuned for more from our Hype Guide in 2020!

Make sure to discuss any dietary changes that you are considering with your doctor. There is no single diet that will prevent or cure cancer.

https://www.pcf.org/blog/diets-hype-hope-and-reality/

Read this article:
Diets: Hype, Hope, and Reality - Prostate Cancer Foundation

If youre anything like me, youve probably gone through phases in your life where despite a reasonably healthy lifestyle you become frustrated with the diminishing returns on your diet and exercise plan.

For years, I was checking what I thought were all the appropriate boxes. I had eggs and fruit after my morning workout. I toted a packed salad to work. I ate a balanced dinner with my family at a reasonable hour. I regularly worked out, running four or five days per week. And if I noticed the number on the scale starting to creep up, for a day or two I would go cold turkey on all carbs, including fruit and vegetables, to stop the upward trend.

Looking back, however, I wasnt sleeping well. I was hungry (okay, hangry) most of the time. And I was discouraged about the number on the scale continuing to increase despite my best-laid plans. Through my network, I came to know Leslie Ann Quillen, a Durham-based personal trainer, nutrition coach for women and founder of FatLossLifestyleSchool.com.

While most would call her a gym nut, Quillen learned that theres more to changing bodies than pumping iron.

It has been six months since Quillen helped me switch up my workouts and meal plans. And Im happy to say, Im fuller, happier and less stressed. In fact, at my last physical, my cholesterol was down 60 points, my blood pressure at a steady rate, and the scale is at a steady spot Im happy with.

Her approach is to do what you need to do for you. Dont listen to the noise. Ignore trendy diets. Reduce stress, eat well and move your body so you can kill it both at home and at the office.

Stress and the gut

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Quillen believes that chronic stress is whats driving most of the problems that women face. By ignoring stress, it manifests in other ways. So many women come to me saying, Im bloated all the time. I think I might have Irritable Bowel Syndrome or a food allergy, said Quillen. That may be the case, but let's rule out the obvious stuff first, like stress. If you get your stress levels down and you are still dealing with digestive issues or other health concerns, then absolutely see a doctor.

As I learned from Quillen, or LAQ as her fans call her, in a sympathetic state, your autonomic nervous system prepares the body to react to stresses such as threat or injury. It causes muscles to contract and heart rate to increase, and digestion is not a priority if your body thinks its in danger. Instead, blood flow goes to big muscles like your arms and legs so you can run from tigers, your cranky two year old or demanding boss.

Meanwhile, your lunch is just sitting in the gut, not moving and you feel bloated. Slowing down and learning to manage stress is the key to a happy gut, she told me.

Its all about the protein

The No. 1 thing women tend to struggle with most is eating enough protein, said Quillen. They dont want to hear it, but its true. Granola bars and fruit smoothies arent the solution. They are cute packaging marketed to women.

Quillen credited a regimen of simple but tasty high-protein meals with a cup of vegetables at every meal (yes, even breakfast!) to help her clients achieve a fat loss lifestyle.

She added, It's not about going no carb or counting macros or intermittent fasting, it's about finding the right amount and type for you based on your goals. About what works for your body.

But what about counting calories?

If your goal is fat loss, you must be in a slight caloric deficit to lose fat, and it's not as much as most people think, said Quillen. She advised that eating real, whole nutrient-dense foods that you love will help you feel full and not be hungry. I dont count calories or macros and I don't teach my clients to either. We eat real food. We move our bodies. We stay consistent with the big rocks nutrition, movement and stress management and the results come in waves.

No longer hangry

With Quillens help, Ive switched up my diet and roll my eyes at the ladies in my office kitchen talking about their fasting intervals. I usually put a runny egg or two on reheated roasted vegetables from the previous nights dinner for breakfast, a salad with a LOT of protein for lunch, and a flavorful dinner comprised of meat and produce. My favorite late afternoon snack, the one that prevents my 4 p.m. meltdowns at the office and my 5:30 p.m. meltdown at home, is a half a can of tuna mashed with half an avocado and sprinkled with Trader Joes Everything but the Bagel Seasoning. Simple, flavor-forward whole foods to keep me happy, healthy, and wise.

Exercise change up

One of the most important lessons Ive learned from Quillen is that I needed to change up my approach to exercise. Sure, an hour-long slow jog is great for clearing the head occasionally, but all that was doing was revving up my appetite. Instead, she helped me create a workout plan five days per week for about 30 to 40 minutes a session.

No time for an hour-long gym session? No problem. A few days per week I lift heavy weights. The others I run sprints or do run-walk intervals. I dig in to the HIIT (high intensity interval training) videos for free on YouTube and Amazon Prime. And the real secret sauce? Adding a 30 minute leisure walk every single day, whether its a rest or a workout day, to move my body and lower my stress level.

The big takeaway for me was that the root cause of most of my health hiccups, from my expanding waistline to rising cholesterol levels, was stress. And without taming that beast, I would never have the energy I desired to keep up with my busy working mom life. And while well-intentioned, my daily static runs were leaving me starving. And, my four small meals a day were the wrong composition to grow lean muscle. Im down about 10 pounds, my clothes fit better, and I have hanger-free energy to get me through my entire day.

Jennifer Folsom is vice president of client delivery at Washington, D.C.-based management consulting firm RIVA Solutions Inc. She lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with her husband Ben and three sons, 17-year-old twins Josh and Will, and 12-year-old Anderson. Her practical guide to modern working motherhood, "The Ringmaster," will be out Jan. 7, 2020

Read more:
My journey to ditch the fad diets and lower my stress this is what worked - NBC News

Impossible burgers. Macrobiotics. Keto. With all the different diet trends out there today, its becoming more and more difficult to figure out which one might be right for you. It seems like a new way of eating pops up with each passing day, which just adds to the confusion. Should you eat mostly meat, or no meat at all? Is the vegan diet extremist and unhealthy (some places have declared it illegal to raise your kids veganyikes!) or is it the best diet out there? Or maybe the paleo diet has it right?

Related: Is a Vegan Diet Safe for Kids? We Weigh the Pros and Cons

Arguably, the vegan and paleo diets are two of the most popular diets in recent years. Thats a bit of a head scratcher, since the two diets seem diametrically opposed in the foods they promote and restrict. More recently, the pegan diet has gained popularity as a hybrid of these two eating plans. Sound bizarre? We thought so, too! But, says John OConnor, founder of the startup Gene Food, which works to identify the right diet based on your genetic makeup, In some respects, the pegan diet is the best of both the paleo and vegan worlds, since it removes the most inflammatory foods from each diet.

In this article, well fill you in on everything you need to know about the pegan diet, including what you can and cant eat, and some of the main benefits and drawbacks as well.

The concept of the pegan diet was first introduced by Dr. Mark Hyman, author of The Blood Sugar Solutionand the hilariously titled, Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? (because who hasnt been there?). In an attempt to avoid the extreme restrictions placed by both the vegan and paleo diets, Dr. Hyman envisioned a hybrid that would allow followers to enjoy a wider array of foods while still avoiding processed foods high in sugar and fat and devoid of nutrients.

Like vegans, followers of the pegan diet seek to fill about 75% of their plates with fruits and vegetables at all meals. A small amount of high-quality meat is OK, but beans, a veritable staple of the vegan diet, are a no-no, since they can lead to a spike in blood sugar. OConnor says, The pegan diet, as a low-sugar, mostly plant-based diet, focuses on plant foods less likely to spike insulin, thereby helping you keep your blood sugar under control.

Wondering exactly what you can and cant eat as part of the Pegan diet? Here are lists of each for easy reference.

Related: Tips on Following a Plant-Based Diet From Top Vegan Chefs and Bloggers

Perhaps the biggest benefit of the pegan diet is that its much more flexible than the two diets it came from. It restricts legumes, but those who dont struggle to keep their blood sugar under control can enjoy a small serving each day. It allows for small amounts of meat, which is a huge draw for anyone whos uninterested in following the vegan lifestyle, but the amount of meat is small as to avoid causing high cholesterol.

The pegan diet is going to be a good option for those looking to decrease inflammation or eat a more nourishing diet, since it focuses predominantly on nutrient-dense veggies and whole, real foods. Its a great option for anyone coming away from a standard American diet, interested in becoming healthier, and reducing their reliance on processed foods, says Samantha Presicci, the Lead Registered Dietitian (RD) at Snap Kitchen.

Eat an apple to boost heart health. High-fiber foods can lower triglycerides, or fatty lipids found in your blood. Aim for 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day with picks like oatmeal, beans and pears.

Any time a diet restricts large food groups, such as meat or dairy, two concerns immediately arise: how to get enough calories to fuel your body, and how to replace nutrients that may be lost by cutting foods out of your diet. Thats why followers of diets like veganism, paleo and as an extension, peganism, need to have a thorough understanding of what theyre doing.

OConnor says, The biggest challenge with the pegan diet is getting adequate calories. Since the diet does restrict many different food groups, it can be a challenging diet for someone who is underweight or trying to gain weight. Many versions of the pegan diet allow for omega-3 rich fatty fish and eggs. But if the diet is strict pegan, nutrient deficiencies can be a concern, especially vitamin D, B vitamins, and vitamin A and K.

For example, the pegan diet calls for followers to avoid beans, which contain not only protein, but loads of soluble fiber, which is key to lowering cholesterol. And dairy is also banned, which is a common source of calcium and protein for most Americans.

When deciding which diet to follow, here are a few things that might help reduce confusion and help you determine whats best for your individual situation.

You should always consult your physician before making any sort of drastic changes to your diet. He or she can help guide you in making the right choices. Furthermore, a baseline physical and blood test can give you key insights into your health before making a change. For example, if you have high cholesterol but dont want to give up meat entirely, the pegan diet could be a good solution for you. Your medical professional can also advise you of any supplements you might need.

Today, there are a host of genetic tests you can take that will give you insight into your bodys unique needs. GenoPalate and Gene Food are two that will give you a complete nutritional profile based on your genetic makeup. And remember, its always a good idea to discuss your findings with your regular doctor.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Home Medical Tests, Including Which Ones Are Most Accurate

Lets face itits hard to make drastic lifestyle changes. If you sign up for something too extreme, youre less likely to stick to it in the long run. So if youre considering going pegan in a family of die-hard steak eaters, youve got a tough road ahead of you. OConnor agrees, saying, Combining these two diets leaves you somewhat limited in terms of your food choices. So be sure to consider your day-to-day when deciding whether you can stick to the diet or not.

Find out whether keto or Whole30 is better for weight loss.

More here:
Pegan Diet 101: What Foods to Eat on the Pegan Diet, Plus Pros and Cons - Parade

Healthy eating is a popular topic on the Pulmonary Fibrosis News Forums. Members discuss their attempts to promote optimal pulmonary wellness by improving their eating habits. They also share what foods they avoid because of side effects and what foods help them feel better.

Someone once said, Eat food as your medicine. Otherwise, you will have to eat medicine as your food. However, I always wonder how this applies to people with a chronic illness, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). I am not suggesting that patients with IPF neglect their antifibrotic medications and focus solely on eating healthy. But it is important to ensure that the two are working in tandem to benefit you.

I recently attended a session of this years PFF Summit called Health and Wellness with Pulmonary Fibrosis. The session was facilitated by two physicians, a senior dietician, and a respiratory therapist who specializes in pulmonary rehabilitation for patients with IPF. I sat next to Noah Greenspan, who started the Pulmonary Wellness and Rehabilitation Center.

Needless to say, I was surrounded by brilliance.

Weight loss isnt the only benefit of healthy eating. Real food and a balanced diet fuel, protect, and optimize bodily functions. Diets for rapid weight loss, including keto diets, vegan diets, and paleoorAtkins diets, emerge regularly. They may help people achieve their weight loss goals, but they often arent a sustainable way of eating.

Barbra Swanson, a senior dietician at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, had a simple message for us: Its best to eat a balanced diet of protein, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. I tend to be a fairly healthy eater, and I am grateful that I enjoy a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. However, the session showed me how the food we consume affects our bodies, particularly our lungs.

According to Swanson, everything we eat produces carbon dioxide, energy, and water. Unsurprisingly, sugar produces the greatest amount of carbon dioxide, so patients with IPF must avoid frequent consumption of sugar. However, the natural sugars in various fruits do not affect the body the same way that processed sugar does. It is important to consume fruit as part of a balanced diet.

Swanson also spoke about the importance of foods that are high in bioflavonoids, which are beneficial to the lungs. Citrus bioflavonoids can be consumed orally or via supplement and are particularly helpful in boosting the immune system, reducing inflammation, and working as an antioxidant. I had never heard of bioflavonoids before the summit and am trying to incorporate them into my diet.

Unfortunately, patients with IPF often struggle with excess mucus in the lungs, which can complicate or stifle the cough that accompanies IPF. I learned that even though dairy is part of the food pyramid, it isnt necessary to consume. Dairy consumption is beneficial, but some patients with IPF might be unable to tolerate the increase in mucus.

I also attended a session on the lung transplant experience, facilitated by Doctor Timothy Whelan from the Medical University of South Carolina. He said the two most common comorbidities post-transplant are diabetes and hypertension. Both can be influenced by the food we consume, which emphasizes the importance of healthy eating habits, especially for people with a chronic illness such as IPF.

Understanding the impact of food consumption on our bodies, particularly our lungs, was beneficial. I hope this information is helpful to you as well.

***

Note: Pulmonary Fibrosis News is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of Pulmonary Fibrosis News or its parent company, BioNews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to pulmonary fibrosis.

Thanks for stopping by my column! My name is Charlene Marshall and I was diagnosed officially with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) on April 7 2016 after 13 months of various tests, hospitalizations and misdiagnoses, such as bronchitis and asthma. Due to my age, the specialist disclosed that he was unsure how the IPF would manifest itself in terms of progression, and whether it would be fast or slow and what the course of my illness might look like. Not much has changed since then, meaning there is still a lot that remains unknown, which is largely due to my age and how rare it is for someone under 30 to receive a diagnosis of IPF. That being said, a lot has changed for me in the time since diagnosis and I am looking forward to sharing some of those changes with you through this online platform, and I invite you along for the ride! Throughout this column I intend to chronicle the experience of living with an invisible, yet fatal disease as a young adult and share some stories about how IPF has impacted every aspect of my life, both good and bad, thus far. I plan on highlighting the challenges (and where I can, the positives) that come with living with IPF and the impact on social and intimate relationships, finances, family dynamics, facing mortality, infertility, travelling, medication side effects, career goals and so much more as it arises for me as a new patient. I hope others with similar experiences will reach out as no story trumps any other, nor should any go unheard. For now, let me leave you with some personal details about who I am, outside of my IPF diagnosis. I grew up in a small town in south-western Ontario and still live within Ontario, although in a much bigger city. My favorite sport is/was underwater hockey (yes, it is a thing: look it up on YouTube), I love working with people, I work full-time in the Social Work/Social Services field, I am an avid learner filled with heaps of curiosity for the world, which lead me to start my Masters Degree in 2014. I am in the last few months of my Masters Degree and am looking forward to an upcoming trip to Australia more than Ive looked forward to anything before. Welcome to the shambles and chaos that is my life!

Continue reading here:
The Direct Influence of Healthy Eating on the Body - Pulmonary Fibrosis News

SALT LAKE CITY The holiday season brings social gatherings, family parties, special events and holidays meals: all of which likely involve an abundance of food.

For some, this can feel overwhelming. It can be difficult to know how to navigate so many food situations.

The food culture we live in makes us all vulnerable to extremes in eating. We are either "on" or "off," "good" or "bad," eating "clean" or not. People are particularly vulnerable to all-or-nothing, black-and-white thinking during the holiday season. Its easy to throw all caution to the wind over the holidays with the promise of a diet in the new year.

As such, heres the best holiday eating advice youll ever get: Dont plan to start a diet in January.

If you know that a diet, restriction or deprivation is around the corner, youll make sure to get all the food right now before its gone. You may lack respect for your body because you think food will soon be scarce. Might as well enjoy yourself now before the suffering begins, right?

Instead, give yourself full permission to enjoy a variety of nourishing and satisfying foods during the holidays and beyond. If you know you can have it later, it will be easier to respect your bodys fullness cues.

Food habituation studies support the evidence for giving yourself permission to eat. Essentially, the more often you are exposed to a food, the less your brain fixates on it. Alternately, the less often you are exposed to a food, the more your brain fixates on it.

Its easy to feel guilty and beat yourself up about haphazard and chaotic eating patterns. Instead, Id encourage you to explore a few questions:

Instead of trying to "fix" overeating with more food rules, you may want to assess if your eating patterns are consistent, adequate, flexible and inclusive of a wide variety of foods. As you work to make them so, youll find you become much more level headed about food.

So, as you navigate food abundant holidays, Id encourage you to reassure yourself that you have permission to eat whatever you want, whenever you want it. By doing so, you can eat what tastes good in amounts that also feel good to your body because its not going anywhere.

To avoid the all-or-nothing mentality that leads to extremes in eating over the holidays, simply dont plan to start a diet in January.

The rest is here:
This is the best holiday eating advice you'll ever get - KSL.com

You probably know chia seeds as that superfood component of your favorite smoothie recipe. Now, theyve grown so popular that people are drinking them straight as chia seed water. Some commercial chia seed beverages are even available in grocery stores. But are chia seeds all theyre cracked up to be? We asked a nutritionist to give us the details.

Chia seeds are robustly nutritious seeds that originate from the plant Salvia Hispanic L, says Alicia Romano, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., C.N.S.C., registered dietitian at Tufts Medical Center and media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics. The seed itself is a complete protein and one of the richest sources of omega-3 fatty acids. One thing that makes chia seeds unique is that they absorb water quickly and can take in up to 10 times their weight in liquid, creating a gel-like texture.

How do you drink chia seeds with water?

Chia seed water is essentially just chia seeds and water, although some recipes call for flavorings such as citrus or sweeteners, says Romano. The benefits would be the same as the general health benefits of eating chia seeds. However, suddenly adding a ton of fiber to your diet can result in stomach discomfort, so if youre new to chia seeds you might not want to down a whole glass of the stuff. Romano recommends increasing your water intake and adding chia seeds gradually to your diet, whether you mix them into oatmeal or a smoothie, or drink a smaller amount of chia seed water. Remember, everything should be done in moderation.

OatmealStoriesGetty Images

Read more from the original source:
Chia Seed Water Health Benefits Chia Seeds Nutrition - GoodHousekeeping.com

To the Editor:

Re Go Ahead. Eat Your Holiday Feelings, by Christy Harrison (Sunday Review, Nov. 24):

Emotional eating is when you are hungry from the heart, not the stomach. There is a large spectrum of problematic eating behavior: overeating, compulsive overeating, binge eating, bulimia, self-starvation, laxative abuse, orthorexia (an obsession with eating foods that one believes are healthy), compulsive exercise and chronic dieting.

No matter where people fall on the spectrum from an 80-pound anorexic to a 450-pound binge-eater their relationship with food and their bodies is fueled and driven by emotions too hard to digest: depression, anxiety, frozen grief, trauma, anger, sexual abuse, feelings of abandonment and rejection.

Ms. Harrison tries to normalize the humanity of overeating: We all do it, and it is often fueled by restrictive dieting and undereating. But she does not go far enough. She minimizes the truth that many people suffer from eating disorders that are psychiatric disorders and require a full scope of treatment interventions, including nutrition support, psychotherapy and sometimes medication for depression and anxiety.

And lets remember: Everyones eating problem is as unique as a fingerprint. One size does not fit all.

Mary Anne CohenBrooklynThe writer is director of the New York Center for Eating Disorders.

To the Editor:

Re Banished for 5 Years, Youth Football Roars Back in a Texas Town (front page, Nov. 17):

The human capacity for self-delusion is profound and resilient. But especially when it concerns the health of children, we must be relentless in pursuit and acceptance of the truth.

There is a growing body of evidence that American football is highly toxic for the brain, especially the preadolescent brain. Recent studies have indicated that boys who begin playing tackle football when very young are at much higher risk of developing brain-wasting chronic traumatic encephalopathy in later life.

No appeal to cultural norms or character formation can justify such a risk. Adults who encourage young boys to play a sport that is so insidiously damaging are engaging in child abuse.

David HaydenWilton, Conn.

To the Editor:

Re What if You Always Had Friday Off? Why Dont You? (Business Day, Nov. 11):

I used to work as a computer animator. I noticed that animators are far more productive when working in union shops. In businesses with 10-to-12-hour days, less was accomplished.

The pace was slower because people werent fresh, and they naturally slow down to survive the longer hours. In the eight-hour shops, we came in fresh, eager to work and easily worked harder to accomplish goals in shorter hours.

J. HauptmanNew York

Read the original post:
On Emotional Eating - The New York Times

Our bodies are home to an abundance of tiny organisms, collectively called the microbiome, which are essential to human health and longevity. But not all microbiomes are equal, according to an essay published on Tuesday in PLOS Biology that spotlights how access to healthy microbes is profoundly interlinked with social and economic inequities.

A team led by Suzanne Ishaq, an assistant professor at the University of Maine and an expert in animal microbiomes, outlines examples of the human microbiomes sensitivity to discrepancies in healthcare, nutrition, and safe environmental standards. This microbial inequality, as the essay calls it, raises the question of whether a healthy microbiome should be a right or a legal obligation for governments to pursue on behalf of people.

The diet that you eat and your lifestyle can have dramatic impacts on the gut microbes that you recruit and the benefits or the negatives that you derive from them, said Ishaq in a call. If you dont even have access to a good quality diet, you might be suffering the effects of not having those beneficial microbes and products in ways you might not have imagined.

Gaps in microbial health can emerge before a person is even born, because some of the most important microbes are fostered in utero. The fetal microbiome is influenced by the mothers access to healthy foods as well as her stress levels, which can be amplified by economic inequities. The availability of maternity leave or social support also affects the amount of time that new mothers can devote to breastfeeding their babies, which is another critical factor in the establishment of a healthy microbiome.

These microbial patterns play out over our entire lifetimes. Populations with access to quality nutrition will have better physical and mental health outcomes than those that do not, and that is reflected on a gut microbial level. The environmental quality of the buildings where we live and work also influence what lifeforms are inside us, as does our general proximity to greenspace, on the positive side, or polluting industrial and agricultural facilities, on the negative end.

Ishaq had been ruminating about these connections in her research for years, and decided to teach a special course on the subject at the University of Oregon over the summer. Fifteen undergraduate students with a wide variety of majors participated in the class, and are now co-authors on the new paper. Because the majority of the class were not science majors, the essay has an interdisciplinary approach that concludes with legal and political implications of microbial inequality, in addition to the medical dimensions.

They were actually much more familiar with the social policies than I was, given their background, which was really cool, Ishaq said of her students.

One of the questions the team explored is whether a healthy microbiome can be considered a human right or a legal obligation. One 2011 paper touched on this issue through the lens of biobanking, or archiving of human tissue, but there has never been a major legal case that establishes who owns an individuals microbiome, or if people are legally entitled to a healthy microbiome.

From the perspective of Ishaq and her colleagues, the dynamic nature of the microbiome suggests that legal arguments should emphasize access to healthy microbes, rather than ownership over ones microbiome.

Youre picking up and putting off hundreds of thousands of microbial cells every day so to think that whats in your gut is completely yours is probably the wrong way to think about it, Ishaq explained. They are more like passengers than things that you own.

In other words, healthy microbes could potentially be categorized as an essential resource or common good, like clean water, safe environments, and quality public health. Ishaq hopes the essay will encourage researchers across disciplines to think about the human microbiome as both a metric of social inequities, and a roadmap to more effectively bridge those divides.

It tends to be people that werent even involved with polluting water or growing too much food or pouring chemicals everywhere that end up being the ones that have to deal with these microbial-related problems, she said.

Addressing this problem will require restructuring our societies on the largest scales, in order to ensure that the small-scale lifeforms inside us can thrive, so that we can too.

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Rich People Have Access to Better Microbes Than Poor People, Researchers Say - VICE