RICHMOND, Va. (CBS Local) A Virginia man has finally achieved his goal to work in law enforcement, but only after he made some major life changes.

Romar Lyle says he weighed a little over 400 pounds at his heaviest.

I got a degree in investigative forensics and it was just so hard to find jobs and figure out what I wanted to be, he told CBS affiliate WTVR.

Lyle was introduced to CrossFit while in graduate school. Combined with a healthier diet, he dropped more than 100 pounds.

I tried to apply to places, but I had to work on getting my run times down and getting my weight down, he said. By the second year, I lost about 130 pounds. Then I came to the academy with hard training and hard work, Ive lost another 34 pounds.

Last week, Lyle was one of 20 other cadets who graduated from basic recruitment class. He starts field training soon at the Richmond Police Departments Third Precinct.

Dont quit on yourself. Know that if you really want to do something, just set your heart to it, he said. Surround yourself with people who will support you, family and friends, and just remember that as long as you believe in yourself, no one can tell you who you are.

Hard work and determination have helped Lyle shed a total of 176 pounds but he still has another 24 pounds to lose to meet his goal.

Excerpt from:
Recruit Drops 176 Pounds To Achieve Dream Of Becoming A Police Officer - WCCO | CBS Minnesota

Paleo this and protein that and charcoal the other... What is it with all the food fads and why do they all cost so much money?

1. The great diet conWhen it comes to food fads, ridiculous diets have been front and centre for hundreds of years. Our world is groaning under the weight of faddy notions that promise to keep us leaner and younger and more beautiful for longer and in the US alone, the diet industry is said to be worth more than $70 billion (63bn) each year. Almost all that money is wasted.

Detox diets are where a big chunk of change is flushed away. Such diets are among the most ridiculous of faddy food trends because they promise to help us lose weight and detoxify our organs when they do nothing of the sort. The reality is that foods do not help bodies detox organs do that and no amount of celebrity endorsements will change that fact.

While detox diets are stupid they might not be the stupidest diet fads that have ever appeared on our table. More than 100 years ago the world was enthralled by something called Fletcherism. It was invented by Horace Fletcher who said if people chewed every mouthful of every meal exactly 32 times they would lose weight. The programme was obviously nonsense although some people may have lost weight because chewing each mouthful of food 32 times must have seen them lose the will to eat any more.

Silly diets were not the preserve of bygone eras and they still come thick and fast. It isnt that long ago that Robert Atkins was said by Time magazine to be among the 10 most influential people in the world. Atkins invented his eponymously named high-protein/low carbohydrate diet in the 1970s but it only really became a big deal in the last years of the last century. The diet so the narrative went allowed people to eat almost all the meat, seafood, eggs and cheese and other proteins they wanted but no carbs and not too many vegetables. Through a strict observance the weight was said to fall off. Did it work? Sort of at least in the short term but it also caused bad breath, tiredness, dizziness, insomnia, nausea and constipation and failed people in the long run.

2. Fryer tuckIn the 1980s almost every home in Ireland seemed to fall in love with the deep fat fryer and we all sought to replicate the greasy chipper experience in our own homes every day of the week. They were certainly fast and sort of easy to use and deep fat fryers were able to cook almost everything but at what cost to our hearts, waist lines, skin and taste buds? They were also hard to clean and smelled pretty bad too if they were mistreated. They are still in use but are nowhere near as popular as they were in the 1980s. It many cases they have been replaced by the likes of the Tefal Actifry which uses hot air and a tiny amount of cooking oil to deliver a passable version of chips without the grease or the smell.

3. Gadgets HellThere are scores of faddy foody things that promised to make our lives in the kitchen easier from the pressure cookers and SodaStreams of the 1970s to the spiralisers and the juicers of more recent years. But very few of them have delivered in the long term and the ones that have let us down all end up in that press in the kitchen where hope and ingenuity go to die.

4. Airline food on your couchThe idea of the TV dinner was sort of intoxicating in much the same space age way as instant mash and rehydrated peas were. You could get a hot and healthy meal to eat while watching the telly in minutes with absolutely no washing up to do at the end of it all. And not only that, the TV dinner would sort of replicate the experience of dining on aeroplanes by dividing your food into handy little compartments. The only problem was they were just a little bit revolting and not very healthy. While people still eat in front of the telly and still eat a lot of ready meals the TV dinners of times past are gone.

5. Meat freeNow, if you are vegan dont get cross. We know the path you are on is virtuous and we know you are making all sorts of sacrifices as a result of animal welfare concerns or concerns over the future wellbeing of the planet. And we are open to the idea that veganism is here to stay but when we see retailers and restaurants and manufacturers falling over themselves to hop on the plant-based bandwagon we cant help but think we are in the midst of a fad. It is possible to live a healthy and happy life by eschewing all animal products but it is very hard work and involves a lot more than just swapping out regular milk for an almond variety and cutting the sausages out of your diet. We suspect that many of the people who have declared themselves vegan in recent years will find themselves giving up when the going gets tough.

6. Doh! NutsHas there ever been a more mortifying moment in our history than when thousands of people appeared to lose the run of themselves in the queue outside that Krispy Kreme shop in Blanchardstown? It opened in September of last year and in its 12 months of trading here about 600,000 customers walked through the Krispy Kreme doors and bought around 6.6 million doughnuts making it the brands most successful store opening internationally. Many of those doughnuts were likely sold in the early days when a sort of collective madness saw the shop swamped by queues of cars and people day and night with many of those standing in line clearly unclear as to why they were there. That is the thing about fads, though. They can be inexplicable.

7. Cups runneth overAnd sometimes fads are very explicable. In an episode of Sex and the City which was broadcast in the US on May 10th, 1998, Carrie and Miranda spent 60 seconds sitting outside the Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker Street eating vanilla cupcakes and were guessing here talking about Carries love life and how she was getting on with Mr Big or Aidan or whoever. As soon as the programme aired people were queuing outside the Magnolia Bakery to be like Carrie and within months the cupcake had unseated the humble bun in bakeries across the world including Ireland. But it couldnt last and the cupcake was in turn unseated by doughnuts or cronuts or whatever youre having yourself.

8. Leave my coffee aloneCoffee has been a particular target for the fad makers. In recent years, trendsetters have sold us coffee made from beans excreted by animals and have added butter to coffee and marketed it as way to get more energy while simultaneously shedding the pounds. Charcoal has also been added to lattes in order to make help us cleanse. One thing all the coffee fads have in common is the price. They are all ridiculously expensive.

9. Pulled legsBarely 10 years ago, pulled pork did not exist in Ireland. Then it was suddenly everywhere. What looked like a mushy mess of meat was selling in high-priced restaurants and low-rent delis. It was all a long way from the North Carolina towns where it used to be made using the shoulder of a pig cooked slowly over barbecue coals until it was soft enough to be pulled into shreds and doused in barbecue sauce. You can still find pulled pork around the place but it is nowhere near as common as it was five years ago.

10. AvoFAD OhThe same cant been said for the avocado. While this fruit has been eaten by some people for many thousands of years, it only reached this part of the world in recent times and only exploded in popularity over the last decade. Marks & Spencer was one of the first supermarkets in Ireland or Britain to sell avocado pears and when they first appeared on its shelves in 1968 they were so alien to shoppers that one customer tried to serve them as a dessert with custard. Since the start of this century global sales have climbed by more than 400 per cent and in excess of 5 billion worth of them are now consumed each year. So many patients cut themselves slicing the fruit that some trauma hospitals have coined the phrase avocado hand for the injury. The British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons have even called for a warning label to be put on avocados.

The fruit was a staple in central America for centuries but a luxury item in the US. Then in 1926, a Los Angeles farmer called Rudolph Hass created a variety of avocado tree which grew a sweeter juicier fruit that was easier to grow, store and transport. It became known obviously as the Hass avocado and was all conquering and it accounts for more than 90 per cent of the avocados eaten. In the 1960s the avocado became more popular thanks to the increasing popularity of Mexican food and it became even more popular again in the 1990s when Sydney chef and restaurateur Bill Granger added lime, salt and chilli flakes to the mix and put it on toast and charged people a tenner for it.

11. QuinoaThe Incas who lived in Peru, Chile and Bolivia happily grew and ate quinoa undisturbed for many hundreds of years. They had plenty of it to go around. Then it started being exported to the US only in the 1980s and in the early part of the 21st century it was discovered by foodies who decided it was better than wheat, couscous or rice. Suddenly, the newly classified superfood was everywhere. It is probably more healthy than other options and it tastes grand but the heightened global demand has put pressure on many South American farmers to keep up. Many of them can no longer afford to eat their staple. Just imagine how wed feel if the hipsters of Portland stole all our potatoes?

12. Smells like protein spiritProtein balls, protein bars, protein shakes, protein bread, protein coffee, protein water, protein Weetabix? Is there nothing we wont add protein to nowadays? Apparently not. And it is not hard to see why. When the Box Says Protein, Shoppers Say Ill take it ran a headline above a Wall Street Journal article which was published six years ago and if anything our desire to have protein with everything has only intensified since then. The global protein supplements market is now valued at more than $12.4 billion each year. We do need protein but do we need so much of it to come from artificial sources and do we need to pay quite so much for it?

13. Palee oh noWho decided that it was a good idea to build entire diets around what our ancestors ate eaten during the Paleolithic era which stretched from about 3 million to 10,000 years ago. While there is nothing wrong with a diet which is made up of meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds the food that could be sourced through old-school hunting and gathering there is something wrong with slapping the prefix paleo on to something and then charging us a premium for it. And were not mad about a programme that cuts out things such as cheese and bread. And apart from all that what was the life expectancy of the people who actually invented the paleo diet? Not many of them lived beyond the age of 30.

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Atkins, avocados and pulled pork: Some of the worst foody fads - The Irish Times

On behalf of the roughly 97 million active dieters that contribute to the infamously indecisive weight loss industry every year, Ladders began our interview with renowned dietitian, Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN, by asking if it is actually possible to canonize an official one size fits all diet? Or if she reasoned that a person should consult with a nutritionist to optimize results? Surprisingly, Glassman doesnt think you have to do either in order to be healthy. In her estimation, securing a successful personalized diet is as simple as learning how to listen to your body.

There are many routes and byways to up-keeping your proverbial temple but some basics need to be established first and foremost. Ladders inquired what those might be in Glassmans privileged estimation.

Whole grains, fruits, veggies, proteins, healthy fats, and dairy, Glassman explained to Ladders. Basically whole, real foods define an overall healthy diet. Consistently following a healthy diet isnt a black or white thing. Its all about learning to tell the difference between hunger, cravings, and thirst.

If youre like me, you might be surprised to learn that the contrasts that distinguish thirst and hunger are extremely subtle ones. When our normal fluid levels drop by a mere 1% to 2% the symptoms that signal this often closely resemble hunger pangs. What you end up with over the course of a 24-hour day are intermittent periods where were either eating or not eating for the wrong reasons: boredom, miscommunication, or poor self-control.

Generally speaking, a person should be eating three meals a day with two snacks for when they feel a little hungry, Glassman told Ladders.

Its perfectly healthy to eat whenever you feel even a little bit hungry. In addition to the whiplash, trend diets encourage us to think meanly of eating. Eating is a vital, culturally and socially significant experience. Its okay to revel in it and customize it and even possible to do both while being able to fit into your levis.

To this, Glassmans celebrated school of thought intends on wounding the last line of defense that stands between public perception and the conclusion of a national obesity crisis. Its not that people dont know how bad sugar and processed meats are for them, its more that not enough are aware of the panoply of worthy alternatives that are currently available. Dispelling cultural classics like a bowl of cereal and a Cheeseburger with fries is a formidable task, which is why Glassman has devoted a reasoned effort to amending the hits as opposed to doing away with them wholesale.

For example, everybody loves a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but really what youre getting is sugar and sugar and then unhealthy fats and sodium, Glassman explained to People. Her alternative retains all the essential flavor profiles of the traditional snack while maximizing eachs nutritional potential.

You start by ditching the processed white bread, which is packed with additives, and replacing it with sprouted grain bread, which is lower in carbs, higher in protein and fiber in addition to boasting a much lowerglycemic index compared to other breads. Next, you swap the peanut butter for almond butter or even natural peanut butter. Both are incredible sources for healthymonounsaturated fats and vitamins. Lastly, instead of jam consider fresh fruit that you can either slice or mash, to top your nutrient-loaded power snack.

Younger generations are more aware today. Thats why theyre leaning more toward personalized plant-based diets, said Glassman of the frequently reported Millennial-specific fixation with health fads.

One of the most exciting predictions from the erudite dietitian regarding the future of diet trends was that the future of dieting sort of requires its votaries to abstain from diet trends. National polls and surveys suggest a burgeoning custom of cherry-picking the essential parts of the acclaimed submissions in accordance with interception and a general adherence to greens. A person that is taking up a diet with their cognitive well-being in mind, for example, would do well to consider anti-inflammatory foods according to Glassman, anything that contributes to a healthy gut community, think yogurt, cheese, dairy, nuts. Remember, how quickly you lost weight as a result of a particular regimen says nothing about its sustainability.

If your druthers command a buzzy name for the dietary horizon, Glassman motioned theflexitarian diet on several occasions. Essentially though, the diet is just a chic way of referring to a sober health-conscious personalized diet. A flexitarian is a mostly-vegan that occasionally consumes meat or fish. Ultimately, as far as disease prevention and longevity is concerned, nothing really beats a plant-based diet. Weve known that for some time. The newest addition simply states, excluding moral reasons and preexisting conditions, enhancing an otherwise vegan diet with limited meat intake might be advisable-environmentally and somatically.

Returning for a moment to Glassmans philosophy of reanimating standards in service of overall health, adding a touch of animal protein to the already vibrant plant-based diet, extends the canvas that much more.Every food group has its role to play in delaying our march back to the maggots though living longer shouldnt be the only concern of a diet plan.Listening to your body commands one to condition a harmonious liaison between our culinary wants and needs.

Flexatarian, Im a big fan of it, Glassman told Today a year ago, when she first suspected the trend to take hold of Millennials and Gen Zers going into the 2020s. You are a vegan most of the time. Youre eating lots of vegetables, and healthy fats from nuts and seeds but when you want to have maybe a piece of grass-fed steak or even just a piece of steak at a restaurant, or you want to have eggs, you can. It allows room for these other kinds of food without being so hardcore.

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Dietician says flexitarian diet will be big in 2020 and add years to life - Ladders

There are several well-known factors that contribute to aging: smoking, stress, sun exposure and genetics, among them. But what you may not realize is what you put on your plate can also cause you to look beyond your year.

Everything that goes into your mouth affects your aging cycle, says Tina Martini, chef and author of "Delicious Medicine: The Healing Power of Food." Among the offenders are alcohol, refined sugar, and over-processed and fried foods.

When you eat fresh foods, as close to nature as you can get, you can slow down the effects of damage to your cells, thus slowing the aging process, she says.

Fried Foods

One of the main damaging factors is acrylamide, an organic compound that is produced during the frying process of some starchy foods. This has led the American Cancer Society to recommend limiting French fries, potato chips, foods made from grains breakfast cereals, cookies, toast because they tend to have higher levels of this chemical.

Acrylamide can affect the skin in the same way that sun damage does, says Martini.

Reduce your exposure by soaking raw potato slices in water for 15 to 30 minutes and draining before frying or roasting. Also, when cooking, choose boiling or steaming to stop acrylamide from forming.

Refined Sugar

Sugar is the main source of energy for our bodies, but it can also contribute to a process called glycation. The excess sugar molecules attach to proteins, creating "advanced glycation end products" or AGEs, which are linked to the loss of collagen. Losing collagen can lead to wrinkles and creepy skin.

Remove processed sugary foods from your diet and eat fresh vegetables and fruits, says Lorraine Kearney, BASc, NDTR, an adjunct lecturer at the City University of New York. To get the maximum nutrients from fruits enjoy them whole instead of dried, blended or pureed.

Snack on organic peaches, cherries, apples and strawberries as they can help to fight the signs of aging.

Enriched and Fortified Foods

You will often find the words enriched and fortified on labels of prepackaged foods. Those words generally mean that all the nutrients were removed during processing, and the manufacturer put back what they deemed important. A diet high in processed foods can lead to oxidative stress, which occurs due to an imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in your body and may lead to cell damage.

Eating a diet rich in colorful foods increases the amount of nutrients the body needs to heal on the cellular level, Kearney says.

Stock up on fresh and antioxidant-rich foods like blackberries, blueberries, beets, bell peppers and radishes as they mitigate the effects of oxidative stress.

Alcohol

While drinking some alcohols in moderation is known to have beneficial health effects, overuse can cause wrinkles, puffiness, inflammation and dehydration.

While you should always remain hydrated, be extra mindful when consuming spirits; and instead of having a full glass of wine, enjoy a spritzer made with seltzer. Staying hydrated not only keeps your skin supple but also flushes toxins from the body.

Skin care is very important in protecting our skin, but its really the moisture in our bodies that keeps us radiant, says Martini.

Read more here:
Fruits of youth: Consider this your guide to an anti-aging diet - Bradford Era

The rising air pollution levels across Delhi have left the city gasping for breath. Over the last week, Delhi has frequently been the most polluted city in the world, and by quite some margin. While most residents are taking precautions like wearing masks and getting air purifiers or anti-pollution plants for home, the fight doesnt stop there. According to doctors and nutritionists, increasing the bodys immunity to fight pollution is just as important. We list out some foods and dietary habits that can help you fight Delhis noxious air.Green tea, lemonade to flush toxins Since the pollutants enter our body through air, it is important to stay hydrated through the day as that helps the body flush toxins out. Dietician Nidhi Sawhney says, Drinking lots of fluids through the day, particularly things like coconut water, lemonade and green tea keep our blood flow in check, which flushes the toxins from the body.

Increased intake of healthy fats Heart and lungs are most vulnerable to air pollution, which is why healthy fats such as ghee should form an essential part of ones diet as they improve heart and pulmonary health. Nutritionist Tapasya Mundhra tells us, Include healthy fats in your diet such as flaxseed oil, ghee. You can even make jaggery and ghee combination and have it once before you go to sleep as it makes your heart healthy and boosts immunity.

Citrus fruits help detox the system Fruits that are rich in Vitamin C, such as oranges, kiwi, grapefruit, and guava are prescribed by most health experts in the prevailing smoggy conditions. Nidhi elaborates, Fruits and salads rich in Vitamin C detox the system and are a must in fighting pollution. In addition, we can also take fresh fruit smoothies with breakfast to start the day on a healthy note.

The rest is here:
The right diet: Foods that help fight pollution - Times of India

A new study estimates that the so-called planetary health diet, which is meant to improve both human and planetary health, would be unaffordable for at least 1.58 billion people, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Earlier this year, theEAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Healthpublished recommendations for a universal diet that addresses both human and planetary health. The Commission suggested that adherence to this diet could ensure that our future food systems can sustainably and nutritiously feed the estimated population of 10 billion people in 2050.

The study published today inThe Lancet Global Health from researchers at theFriedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts Universityand theInternational Food Policy Research Institute sought to address what many felt was one of the main components lacking in the creation of the recommended diet, namely affordability.

When formulating this pioneering benchmark diet addressing individual health outcomes as well as the health of the planet the Commission deliberately did not take its cost into account, said senior and corresponding authorWill Masters, an economist at the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts.

The research team also found that the EAT-Lancet diet was 64 percent more costly than the lowest-cost combination of foods that would provide a balanced mix of 20 essential nutrients. The EAT-Lancet diet has higher quantities of animal-source foods and fruits and vegetables than the minimum required for nutrient adequacy, and much higher quantities than are now consumed in low-income countries.

We found that the global median of the proposed diet would cost $2.84 per day as of 2011. In low-income countries, that amounts to 89.1 percent of a households daily per capita income, which is more than people can actually spend on food. In high-income countries, we found that the EAT-Lancet reference diet would cost 6.1 percent of per-capita income, which is often less than what people now spend on food, saidKalle Hirvonen, the lead author and development economist in Ethiopia at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

The EAT-Lancet Commission diet consists of a large amount of vegetables, fruits, whole grain, legumes, nuts and unsaturated oils, some seafood and poultry, and little to no red meat, processed meat, added sugar, refined grains, and starchy vegetables.

Fruits, vegetables, and animal-source foods are often the most expensive components of a healthy diet, but prices vary widely around the world, say the researchers.

To compute the affordability of an EAT-Lancet diet in each country, the researchers drew on retail prices for standardised items obtained through the International Comparison Program, a collaboration between the World Bank and country statistical agencies. They used prices for 744 food items in 159 countries, from which they could identify the lowest-cost combination of items in each country to meet EAT-Lancet criteria. They then did the same for nutrient requirements, and compared the cost of food in each country to survey data on household expenditure and income per capita from the World Banks PovcalNet system.

Although 1.58 billion is a lot of people, it is actually a conservative lower limit on the total number who cannot afford the diet recommended by the EAT-Lancet Commission. The cost of food preparation and of non-food necessities ensure that an even larger number of people cannot afford that kind of healthy diet, said Masters.

Even if many poor consumers were to aspire to consume healthier and more environmentally sustainable foods, income and price constraints frequently render this diet unaffordable. Increased earnings and safety-net transfers, as well as systemic changes to lower food prices, are needed to bring healthy and sustainable diets within reach of the worlds poor, concluded Hirvonen.

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Planetary health diet 'unaffordable' for quarter of the population - Spectator.co.uk

Body fat is not created equal in terms of its health risks, and visceral fat is regarded as the most dangerous as it wraps around internal organs.

In contrast to subcutaneous fat, which sits just below the surface of the skin, the proximity of visceral fat to internal organs can lead to metabolic disease, insulin resistance, and an increased risk of death.

Numerous studies have touted the health benefits of following low-carb diet, which generally consists of the following:

It has been shown to ward off a wide-range of health complications, and is increasingly recommended for people with type 2 diabetes to help them manage their blood sugar levels.

In addition a low-carb diet has been shown to aid weight loss, and the ketogenic diet, which is a very low-carb diet that involves cutting back on carbs and replacing them with fat, has been shown to combat harmful visceral fat.

A study including 28 overweight and obese adults found that those who followed a ketogenic diet lost more fat, especially visceral fat, than people following a low-fat diet.

Key components of a keto diet include:

Notably, avocados and keto-friendly vegetables such as Brussels sprouts are high in soluble - a type of fibre that easily dissolves in water and is broken down into a gel-like substance in the gut.

How to get rid of visceral fat: Best diet proven to reduce the dangerous belly fat

And soluble fibres have been shown to deal an effective blow to visceral fat, with one study in particular demonstrating weight-loss benefits of upping insoluble fibre-intake.

The study, published journal Obesity, suggested the best defence against visceral fat is to eat more soluble fibre from vegetables, fruit and beans, and engage in moderate activity.

The study found that for every 10-gram increase in soluble fibre eaten per day, visceral fat was reduced by 3.7 percent over five years. In addition, increased moderate activity resulted in a 7.4 percent decrease in the rate of visceral fat accumulation over the same time period.

We know that a higher rate of visceral fat is associated with high blood pressure, diabetes and fatty liver disease," said Kristen Hairston, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine at Wake Forest Baptist and lead researcher on the study.

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They added: "Our study found that making a few simple changes can have a big health impact."

Ten grams of soluble fibre can be achieved by eating two small apples, one cup of green peas and one-half cup of pinto beans; moderate activity means exercising vigorously for 30 minutes, two to four times a week, Hairston added.

In the longitudinal study, published in the June 16 online issue of the journal Obesity, researchers examined whether lifestyle factors, such as diet and frequency of exercise, were associated with a five-year change in abdominal fat of African Americans and Hispanic Americans - populations at a disproportionately higher risk for developing high blood pressure and diabetes and accumulating visceral fat.

At the beginning of the study, which involved 1,114 people, the participants were given a physical exam, an extensive questionnaire on lifestyle issues, and a CT scan, the only accurate way to measure how much subcutaneous and visceral fat the participants had. Five years later, the exact same process was repeated.

Researchers found that increased soluble fibre intake was associated with a decreased rate of accumulated visceral fat, but not subcutaneous fat.

There is mounting evidence that eating more soluble fiber and increasing exercise reduces visceral or belly fat, although we still don't know how it works," Hairston said.

Adding: Although the fibre-obesity relationship has been extensively studied, the relationship between fibre and specific fat deposits has not. Our study is valuable because it provides specific information on how dietary fibre, especially soluble fibre, may affect weight accumulation through abdominal fat deposits."

According to Harvard Health, engaging in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per day could help to target the harmful fat.

Studies single out aerobic exercise as the best type to beat the fat, for example, an analysis of 15 studies in 852 people compared how well different types of exercise reduced visceral fat without dieting.

For example, an analysis of 15 studies in 852 people compared how well different types of exercise reduced visceral fat without dieting.

The analysis suggested that combining regular aerobic exercise with a healthy diet is more effective at targeting visceral fat than doing either one alone.

Examples of aerobic exercises include:

Read more:
How to lose visceral fat: The diet proven to reduce the harmful belly fat - Express

Sugar and jaggery are both delicious sweeteners. How are these sweeteners different from each other, and which one should you choose?

Those of us who have a sweet tooth are well versed with the distinct tastes of both sugar and jaggery. Whenever we talk about sweeteners, the crystal-like refined sugar comes to mind. But there is another kind of sweetener popularly available in the market - thats jaggery or gudh. In fact, sugar and jaggery are the two most commonly used sweeteners across the country! Even though both are obtained from the same sources, they have huge differences in terms of their properties and benefits. Sugar and jaggery are both produced by using sugarcane juice, but are treated and processed differently.

They have different flavours and textures yet are often substituted for each other in desserts and drinks. Thus, there is always a sugar versus jaggery war going on which tends to confuse most of us. Keep reading to explore the differences between sugar and jaggery, and find out which one is healthier and better for you!

ALSO READ: Granola VS Muesli: Here's how THESE two breakfast options are different from each other

1. The most common difference between these two are their appearance. Sugar is typically seen in the form of white, translucent crystals. Whereas jaggery is usually golden brown or dark brown in colour, depending on the extent to which it is cooked.

2. The texture of sugar crystal and is hard and difficult to break by hand. Jaggery, on the other hand, is soft, semi-solid and can be reshaped by hand.

3. Both are made from sugarcane juice but are processed differently. After the initial boiling, for sugar, the syrup is treated with charcoal to absorb unwanted particles - which gives the crystals a clear and transparent look. On the other hand, there is no treatment for jaggery except that the sugarcane syrup is boiled for several hours. Then the juice cools down to produce a thick paste.

4. Since sugar goes to a rigorous industrial process while being prepared it loses all its nutritional value and in the end is plain sucrose. Whereas jaggery manages to retain traces of iron, fiber and various mineral salts.

ALSO READ:Biryani VS Pulao: THESE things make them so different from each other

Jaggery can treat breathing disorders, has anti-allergic properties and relaxes the respiratory muscles. It also cures constipation and clears the body of any excess mucus. Jaggery also boosts your digestion. A small piece taken after a meal can be very healthy.

Meanwhile, sugar is chastised as a source of empty calories with no nutritional value. It leads to sudden blood sugar spikes, weight gain and other ailments. So, when it comes to sugar versus jaggery, jaggery is definitely a healthier option. But, jaggery is rich in calories and must be consumed in moderation!

ALSO READ: Caffeine in Tea vs Caffeine in Coffee: Do you know the difference

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Sugar Vs Jaggery: Which one is a MUST HAVE in your diet? Find out - PINKVILLA