The most familiar images of Victorian life are bleak indeed: impoverished children working long hours in factories and mines; blankets of smog suspended above overcrowded cities; frightening workhouses run by cruel governors; violent criminals lurking in the shadows. In black-and-white photos of the period, people both high and low-born are invariably unsmiling a miserable bunch, surely?

There is some truth in this portrayal. The twin processes of industrialisation and urbanisation did force a drop in living standards for some, and the turbulent decade after Queen Victoria came to the throne became known as the Hungry Forties. These years were punctuated by economic depression leading to social unrest, popular protests and growing fears of revolution.

Such impressions can be explained by the collision of three unique processes. The first, combining industrialisation and urbanisation, had acutely visual effects. Just as important was the expansion of print culture, which provided a vehicle for such images as well as a growing and captivated audience. The third ingredient, equally crucial, was the emergence of a reforming spirit among the social elite from the 1830s onwards. Grave images of deprivation were circulated precisely because reformers such as Dickens, Disraeli and Gaskell, plus journalists and MPs, wanted to remedy such social problems.

But was life truly miserable? Did the labouring poor believe they were living in exceptionally tough times? Social historians have worked hard to give voice to those at the bottom, uncovering new evidence and taking a fresh look at old material related to five aspects of life. In doing so, they have challenged the very grimmest portrayals of urban Victorian Britain

1 Were the mills really dark and satanic?

Workers toiled in dangerous factories or mines but conditions improved substantially. The mention of work in the Victorian period rarely fails to conjure up an image of an imposing factory or a bleak mine, run by a merciless employer, in which employees including small children are forced to work long hours, often in poor light, using dangerous machinery. It is a picture created by novels such as Dickens Hard Times; by government inquiries, such as Ashleys MinesCommission of 1842, which exposed brutal physical and moral conditions; and by scandals about real factories throughout the century. But is it accurate? Not entirely.

Industrialisation in the early 19th century did drive down wages and lead to an increase in the employment of women and children, especially those of a very young age, in the manufacturing sector. Work in factories and mines certainly could be dangerous. In 1879, one MP who had visited a Bradford textile factory in the late 1830s described the 80 crippled and deformed children gathered for his inspection in the courtyard: No power of language could describe the varieties, and I may say the cruelties, in these degradations of the human form. They stood or squatted before me in all the shapes of the letters of the alphabet.

However, from the 1830s onwards, legislation was introduced to restrict child and (in some cases) female labour, to improve conditions and to regulate working hours. Reforms were limited, but often by the realities of working-class life. Take child labour, for example. While it offends our 21st-century sensibilities, it was not necessarily socially detrimental after all, the wages that children brought in could raise the standard of living for the entire family. The alternative schooling cost money and rarely bettered a childs future prospects.

Whats more, working in a factory could be preferable to other types of paid work. Days were controlled by the clock, but they were not necessarily longer than those of agricultural labourers. Clocking in and out, combined with the physical separation of work and home, could be more attractive than the endless days of domestic servants another expanding industry. For every merciless master there existed at least one paternalistic employer who cared about his workers. Some even created model villages near workplaces for families to live in some comfort, one of the most famous being the Cadburys Bournville establishment near Birmingham.

Not only did some workers enjoy protection for traditional holidays (raucous St Monday festivities continued as late as the 1870s in the West Midlands) but time for leisure increased: the working day was limited to 10 hours, and the Saturday half-day was introduced. Many employers organised trips for their workforces to the seaside.

Even employees without these privileges were increasingly able to enjoy an expanding world of leisure, as workers real wages increased from the middle of the century. At the same time, industrial unrest and popular narratives of factory accidents subsided because the majority of working people became more comfortable with new patterns of work and industrial capitalism.

2 A route out of poverty

Not all paupers were condemned to hellish workhouses. One of the most enduring images of the Victorian period is entirely fictional: the painfully hungry Oliver Twist begging the tyrannical workhouse beadle, Mr Bumble, for gruel. Charles Dickens wrote his novel in the wake of the New Poor Law of 1834, legislation that aimed to reduce government spending on welfare by deterring the poor from seeking assistance. Local relieving officers were tasked to send those in need to the workhouse, where families were split up. Those who could work were pressed into hard labour and those who couldnt were cared for at the minimum standard. All were subjected to a harsh disciplinary regime.

Some workhouses were abhorrent institutions. Local penal authorities were convinced that paupers deliberately tore their uniforms or smashed windows in order to be sent to prison where both accommodation and food were better.

The workhouse also held a special attraction to journalists eager for explosive copy. In 1866, James Greenwood disguised himself as a vagrant to spend a night in the male casual ward of the Lambeth Workhouse. After being registered, he was forced to bathe in a liquid so disgustingly like weak mutton broth and allocated a shirt and rug, then entered the ward to find 30 men and boys stretched upon shallow pallets which put only 6 inches of comfortable hay between them and the stony floor. These beds were placed close together In not a few cases two gentlemen had clubbed beds and rugs and slept together.

But how helpful are such portraits in understanding the experience of poverty in Victorian Britain? They certainly have their limits. Written between 1837 and 1839, Oliver Twist could at best describe conditions only in pre-Victorian poorhouses, and the New Poor Law was in practice not nearly as harsh as its promise probably why campaigns against it died away fairly quickly.

Young children carry heavy loads in a Midlands brickyard in this 1871 illustration from The Graphic, a weekly London newspaper. It has been estimated that between 20,000 and 30,000 children aged under 16 worked in British brickyards at the time. (Photo by Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

Its also worth acknowledging that workhouses functioned as providers of services ranging from education to health care, particularly from the mid-1860s onwards when improvements in provision were made.

Whats more, poverty was not a permanent state but often a condition that working people, or even lower middle-class people, could slip into and out of, depending on circumstances. And the poor had multiple resources upon which to draw. First was charity, which many socially conscious and religiously motivated elites were only too eager to supply. And the poor were not docile recipients of this charity. They knew just how to play the role required to secure funds combining a display of respectability with evidence of poverty.

Secondary survival strategies ranged from gleaning (gathering leftover grain after harvest), keeping livestock, co-residence and pawning, to less legitimate activities poaching, petty crime, prostitution and fraud. The poor routinely pawned their Sunday clothes early in the week to put food on the table, and redeemed them on Saturdays after wages had been collected. A London pawnshop assistant described the merriment of the trade on Saturday evening: Some was eating fish and chips, some was eating tangerines, some had pease pudding and faggots. Cor blimey it was like Mother Kellys doorstep in there.

3 The war on dirt

Urbanisation and industrialisation worsened living conditions for town dwellers. New industries pumped pollutants into the air and water. Expanding populations increased pressure on existing sewerage. Overcrowded neighbourhoods deteriorated into slums. The most notorious St Giles, Old Nichol and Jacobs Island in London, Angel Meadow in Manchester were immortalised by artists, journalists and novelists, and some even featured in Baedekers famous travel guides.

The need to address such problems was recognised at the start of the Victorian period. To the investigations of reformer Edwin Chadwick must be added protestations from residents of ground-floor and cellar apartments inundated by sewerage overflows during heavy rain. Those living beside urban burial grounds witnessed daily the turning out of recently interred bodies to accommodate the stream of fresh corpses, as described by Thomas Munns in 1842: I saw them bring up intestines in a bucket and put them out on the earth, and bones were thrown up, which were put in a barrow and wheeled away.

Improvements came quickly. From the 1840s, new drain systems and other ambitious projects started to remove waste and clean up water supplies. Scavengers removed filth from the streets. New laws imposed regulations on construction of dwellings to combat the growth of slums. Some towns built public conveniences; by 1875, Glasgow had 198 urinals.

Notably, 80 to 90 per cent of the population did not reside in slums, and many working-class families, especially in the later Victorian period, did not live in overcrowded conditions. And what seriously needs reassessing is the assumption of dirt. By contemporary standards, slum-dwellers were not all very dirty or, at least, they didnt choose to be. Evidence lurks in depictions of slum life. Gustave Dors famous etching (on page 50) shows lines of washing hanging in tenement backyards. Some even served as laundries for the well-to-do those most offended by the slums dirty existence.

4 When crime paid

Newspapers made a mint out of exaggerating the threat posed by the criminal class. Though the Victorian age has come to be remembered as criminal and violent, most of the best-known vicious anti-heroes of the 19th century are fictional or semi-fictional for example, Fagin and Jack the Ripper.

Our perceptions have been largely driven by the Victorians own fears and claims of a large, hardened, uncivilised and largely irretrievable criminal class in towns and cities. The famous early Victorian social investigators Henry Mayhew and John Binny boasted that they had managed to assemble 150 of these creatures in a room, the effect a spectacle of squalor, rags and wretchedness Some were young men, and some were children [many] had the deep-sunk and half-averted eye so characteristic of natural dishonesty and cunning The hair of most of the lads was cut very close to the head, showing their recent liberation from prison.

The popularisation of phrenology (a pseudoscience primarily focused on measurements of the human skull) gave the idea of the criminal class a scientific authority. The arrival of crime statistics in 1857 brought accurate estimates of the dimensions of this class (20,000 members in London alone, according to journalist James Greenwood in 1869), and the introduction of criminal registers with photographs enabled the monitoring of every individual.

Historians have worked hard to explode this myth: there were probably no more than about 4,000 truly habitual criminals, and most theft and violence was opportunistic and carried out by poor, young men.

Contemporary fears about crime and violence were further inflamed by an expanding and increasingly pictorial newspaper press. Crime news was readily available and sold well. Detailed coverage of a particularly gruesome murder could increase circulation several fold; the proprietors of several national and London newspapers made small fortunes from coverage of the Jack the Ripper murders.

With its thirst for crime, the media also manufactured moral panics by compiling reports over several weeks to suggest that a crime wave had hit a local area. The most famous of these was the London garrotting panic of the early 1860s, sparked when several London newspapers published a wave of reports on violent street robberies. In fact, according to the criminal statistics, there was no significant increase in robberies. However, popular fears forced the government to take action, increasing penalties for offenders and granting police new powers of surveillance over known criminals.

Victorian statistics also tell us that crime or at least serious theft and violence was in decline through the second half of the 19th century. They are supported by other evidence, notably the emergence of a disciplined, efficient police force accepted if not always liked by almost every level of society. At the same time, society was becoming less violent. Male-on-male violence almost certainly declined as displays of aggression were increasingly regarded as unacceptable. But that didnt stop many Victorians believing they were living through a crime-ravaged age. As one committed working-class newspaper reader declared to Henry Mayhew: I read Lloyds Weekly Newspaper on a Sunday, and what murders and robberies there is now!

Perceptions are important in assessments of quality of life, but so too is lived experience. Victorians were predominantly spectators rather than victims of crime. And spectating when violence was presented in neatly packaged, entertaining forms could be an enjoyable pastime.

5 A nation rises from its sickbed

The Victorians, especially poor ones, were at high risk of catching some nasty diseases. Most of the common killers measles, scarlet fever, smallpox and typhus had blighted Britain for centuries. Yet overcrowded and unsanitary conditions created by rapid urbanisation did assist the spread of these infectious diseases, as well as various illnesses of the digestive system such as diarrhoea and gastroenteritis.

Whats more, life expectancy, which had previously shown long-term improvement, took a tumble in the second quarter of the 19th century. By the start of Queen Victorias reign, it had fallen to around 2527 years in the industrial towns of Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. As the Cambridge Group for the History of Population and Social Structure calculates, life expectancy in urban slums of the 1830s and 1840s was the lowest it had been since the Black Death.

The primary reason was the high rate of child mortality. Around one-third of children, and more than half in some poor neighbourhoods, died before they reached the age of five. High child mortality was a factor driving increased numbers of offspring. However, as the letters, diaries and memoirs of men and women from all levels of society show, having more children never compensated emotionally for those who were lost.

As grim as these mortality statistics appear, overall the Victorian period was an era of improvement in terms of health. Life expectancy increased from around 1870 onwards, largely due to the fact that the Victorians became better at fighting diseases. Sanitary reform helped, because stagnant dirty water was flushed away. Doctors and scientists began to develop a better understanding of the causes of diseases.

Though cholera killed more than 50,000 people in Britain during the 184849 epidemic, the death toll fell to around 14,000 in the last epidemic of 1866, after John Snow successfully demonstrated that the disease was transmitted via contaminated water. Infectious diseases were responsible for around 40 per cent of urban deaths in 1840, but this figure dropped to about 20 per cent by 1900. The moment at which the prevalence of degenerative disease overtook that of infectious disease came during the Victorian era.

Alongside better hygiene, improved nutrition also helped combat disease, which might sound unlikely in light of a commonly told story of the period the numbers of short men with bad teeth and poor eyesight, enlisting for service in the Boer Wars at the end of the century, who triggered a government inquiry.

Then there were tales of food adulteration the use of chalk or alum in white bread, plaster of Paris in boiled sweets, horsemeat in sausages encouraged by an unregulated industry under pressure to sell ready-made food at cheap prices. However, from 1860, new legislation on food standards combated the worst abuses. And anyway, having developed a taste for many rogue products, the working classes were largely indifferent about most low-level adulteration.

Recent research suggests that Britons of the mid-Victorian period enjoyed a diet rich in fruit, whole grains, oily fish and vegetables superior to ours today, in fact. Nutritional problems came in the form of tinned foods and cheap sugar imported during the late 19th century detrimental in the long term but, in the short term, sources of delight rather than misery.

Rosalind Crone is a senior lecturer in history at the Open University, specialising in the society and culture of 19th-century Britain, particularly criminal justice and popular culture.

This article was first published in the Christmas 2015 issue of BBC History Magazine

Follow this link:
Was Victorian Life Really So Bad? 5 Reasons Why The Victorians Were Happy - BBC History Magazine

Despite the chips, his diet now revolves around lean meat, and he allows himself cheat meals on Sundays. He started boxing midway through his career to build endurance and hand-eye coordination without the heavy impact that regular cardio had on his legs.

That boxing is a respite should say everything about Gores capacity for pain. In addition to his two A.C.L. tears in college, he has had double shoulder surgery (2005), three ankle injuries (2007, 08, 09), a hip fracture (2010), a concussion (2014), another shoulder injury (2017) and a sprained foot (2018). Despite it all, he has been on the injured reserve list only twice in his career.

He has managed to miss only two games since 2011, but there are days now when Gore is too sore or beat up to practice, such as the week after the Patriots game, when he needed an extra day off to recover. There are other days when hell spend six hours at the training facility, working out for two and spending the other four rehabbing and trying to stay ahead of injuries.

Though he still savors outworking younger running backs, Gore has long been a mentor, too. In 2007, when his mother, Lizzie, died during the football season, Robinson noticed a big difference in his demeanor.

It seemed to stop being about him and being more about the team, Robinson said. I know it was a loss in his life personally, but I think it was a gain in his life at the same time because he gained such a level of calmness, such a level of perspective. He became a better teammate.

Gore has taken Singletary, the Bills third-round pick in the 2019 draft, under his wing. Its important to him, Gore said, to be able to look back once he is finished playing and know he was able to pass down his knowledge to the next generation.

Even when hes not in, hes still back there saying, This play is going to go here or This play is going to go here, said Ken Dorsey, the Bills quarterbacks coach, who has known Gore since 2001, when Gore was a freshman at Miami and Dorsey was the teams starting quarterback.

Read more here:
Death, Taxes and Frank Gore - The New York Times

Recent headlines and a new study seem to suggest that weve overturned nutrition science and eating recommendations once again this time around red and processed meat consumption. If it feels like we cant make up our minds about how to eat well, its because weve been here before. There are many examples, but probably few as extreme as butter and eggs, which have been through the same back and forth. But before you reach for the red and processed meat, butter and eggs, lets take a look at why nutrition science keeps getting turned on its head, and what you need to know about these standard American diet staples.

To meat or not to meat? In a new analysis of previously published research, study authors suggest theres no need to cut back on red or processed meat. However, this report isnt based on new science or information. The team of researchers argue that previous research is weak, and that since people enjoy red and processed meat, theyd find it difficult to stop eating it. Therefore, they conclude: Dont bother trying. Instead, they suggest eating red and processed meat in the amount youre currently eating.

This conclusion has been massively refuted by other health authorities and organizations, including the Harvard School of Public Health and the American Institute for Cancer Research. In essence, its total bologna! Nutrition is an imperfect science because much of what we know comes from a type of study known as an observational study. To help you understand why these (and other diet-related) studies seem so conflicting, Im going to break down some research basics. Stick with me! Well get to the bottom of all of this!

The most well-regarded diet-related observational studies are conducted by following people (often hundreds of thousands of them) over an extended period of time (often decades), collecting dietary recalls every so often, and then determining who develops health problems. From there, researchers can see if theres a link between a certain dietary pattern (say, high in red meat) and a disease (say, heart disease). But these studies arent meant to prove any cause and effect (for example, that red meat causes heart disease). Theyre only looking at trends for instance, that people with diets especially high in red meat are more likely to experience heart disease compared with non-meat eaters. (Note, Im not citing any study specifics here, but using these examples for illustration purposes.)

Another form of observational study matches people with the disease (lets stick with heart disease) to a similar set of people who are healthy. They might look back, asking study participants questions about their diet or other lifestyle factors to see if any trends emerge. This type of data points us in the right direction, but there are obvious issues with asking people to recall how often they typically ate something or participated in another behavior in the past. Still, these studies help scientists connect the dots between a potential behavior (lets go with eating red meat again) and a health phenomenon.

A more rigorous study is called a randomized clinical trial. This type of research design is considered the gold standard because it can prove one thing causes another thing. Though its a great way to study certain scientific questions, its not necessarily the most practical way to address the link between diet and disease since diseases may take years upon years to surface and these studies involve a more controlled (and therefore, costly) set up. Thats why its common though not perfectto use observational studies to inform us about diet and health.

So in essence, what this new report says is that observational studies dont give us strong enough evidence to suggest that people who enjoy eating meat should stop eating it. However, when multiple observational studies make the same links, it strengthens the case. And we do have many studies along these lines suggesting that red and processed meats are associated with health problems. Also, we cant ignore the science on other dietary patterns, like the Mediterranean Diet, which is limited in red and processed meat in favor of a more plant-based eating pattern with smaller amounts of animal protein. Studies consistently link this eating pattern with health benefits, which are important to consider when assessing the big picture and making health recommendations.

Bottom line: Theres nothing new to report here, other than the fact that this new analysis opened up Pandoras box (and created a lot of confusion) by interpreting the previously reported and well-established data another way. Experts and health organizations are aligned on this: Its still a smart idea to reduce your red meat intake and really curtail your processed meat consumption in order to reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Based on what we currently know about eggs, most healthy people can safely consume up to seven eggs per week, be it a three-egg omelet twice a week or a hard boiled egg every day. The concern with eggs stems from the fact that theyre high in cholesterol and theres a link between high blood cholesterol and heart disease. However, over time, weve learned that the cholesterol from food sources doesnt impact the cholesterol in your blood. So in 2015, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines noted that current evidence doesnt support concerns with cholesterol coming from dietary sources, such as eggs. At that time, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines stopped recommending cholesterol limits.

A recent study gave rise to questions about this direction. This type of study, known as a meta-analysis, pooled data from previous studies in order to get a potentially broader picture of risk. Pooled data can strengthen our understanding of certain things, but in this case, there were flaws in how egg consumption was assessed. The studies from which the data was pooled used a single food recall to determine egg consumption, which I mentioned earlier is problematic for obvious reasons. Though food recall is an important tool to help scientists on their fact-finding mission, its not the most conclusive tool. Plus, while this study looked at other sources of cholesterol and saturated fat in the diet, along with other lifestyle factors (like exercise patterns) that might contribute to someones heart disease risk, it didnt account for these factors in a meaningful way.

Bottom line: How you eat your eggs matters as much as how often and how many youre eating. To protect your heart and lower the risk of other serious health concerns, rethink common sides, like bacon, sausages and white toast. Instead, focus on heart-healthy accompaniments, like sliced avocado, salsa, black beans, whole grain toast, roasted sweet potatoes and sauted greens. If you want to bolster egg-based dishes without going over the seven-egg-per-week cutoff, use a mix of egg whites with whole eggs since its the yolk that contains all of the cholesterol (though it also contains most of the other nutrients as well).

Not necessarily, but its probably not as harmful as we once thought. The concern with butter comes from the fact that its high in saturated fat, which was thought to raise blood cholesterol levels and therefore, increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. But we now know that the story behind saturated fat is more complex. Some sources, like red meat, are still suspect (though health risk may also be related to other compounds in red meat) whereas other sources (like full fat dairy products) are now considered less risky.

That said, while butter may not raise your risk of health problems in and of itself, it doesnt appear to lower your risk, either. But other fats, like avocado oil and extra virgin olive oil have been found to be health protective so your overall diet should emphasize these types of plant-based fats.

Bottom line: If you want to spread a little butter on your whole grain toast and are otherwise eating wholesome foods and healthy fats, its probably fine. But make avocado and extra-virgin olive oil your go-to cooking oils and emphasize other healthier fats (such as nuts and seeds and their butters) in meals and snacks.

Heres what weve covered: Nutrition is an imperfect science and theres some discomfort in that. Because of the way we study diet patterns and health phenomena, we might not get the most conclusive info. But we can gather a lot of evidence that points us in a solid direction. Just about all of that evidence tells us that your overall dietary pattern matters more than one thing (like butter or red meat) on your plate. The dietary pattern thats consistently linked with the best health outcomes longer, healthier lives with limited pain and illness, and fewer memory problems is one thats rich in plant foods. Those are foods, like vegetables, fruits, pulses (the umbrella term for beans, legumes and lentils), whole grains (like oats, bulgur, quinoa and brown rice), and healthy fats from plant sources, like nuts, seeds, avocados and olives (as well as all of their butters and oils).

In addition to what youre emphasizing, its important to think about what foods to limit and what swaps youre making to replace those gaps in your diet. A healthy eating pattern is low in red meat and very low in processed meat, and it contains few refined grains, heavily processed snack foods, and foods with added sugars. That means swapping your steak for pizza or fried chicken with French fries isnt a trade up.

However, if your plate contains generous portions of veggies and youre routinely consuming wholesome plant-based foods and fats, a weekly lean steak dinner along with a baked potato with a pat of butter can be OK.

Want more tips like these? NBC News BETTER is obsessed with finding easier, healthier and smarter ways to live. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Read the rest here:
Should you eat red meat or not? A dietitian explains the latest nutrition science on meat, eggs and butter - NBC News

For sufferers of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the low FODMAP diet has been recognized as a way to alleviate and manage digestive symptoms.

And with one in seven people 15% of the worlds population affected by IBS, the low FODMAP diet can be a savior.

But what exactly are FODMAPs? They are a collection of short-chain carbohydrates (sugars) that the gut cant properly absorb and trigger symptoms in people with IBS, such as abdominal pain, bloating, flatulence, irregular bowel movements, and fatigue.

FODMAPs, which is an acronym of Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols, are naturally present in many foods and food additives.

It is now widely recognized that the best way to alleviate IBS symptoms is to avoid foods that contain FODMAPs, and modern technology is helping those affected to navigate what they eat with ease.

Researchers at Monash University have developed theFODMAP Diet appwhich allows users to search for a range of foods that can be identified as IBS triggers.

The app lists food items by a traffic light system and by serving sizes: red foods are high in FODMAPs and should be avoided; orange foods are moderate in FODMAPs and may be tolerated by some people, and green foods are low in FODMAPs and safe for consumption.

Dr. Jane Muir, a nutrition researcher who leads the FODMAP team at Monash University, said the low FODMAP diet is not a quick fix or fad diet.

It is a therapeutic diet to help people who suffer from gastrointestinal symptoms associated with a common gastrointestinal disorder called IBS, she said.

Dr. Muir also said the low FODMAP diet is not a diet for life, but rather best described as a learning diet and broken up into three key steps.

The first step involves following a low FODMAP diet for 2-6 weeks, where high FODMAP foods are swapped for low FODMAP alternatives. The second step is a reintroduction phase over 6-8 weeks where one FODMAP sugar at a time is reintroduced into the diet, allowing you to recognize which FODMAPs trigger symptoms. Step three involves personalizing your diet, where you can expand your diet to include FODMAPs that are well tolerated and limit the FODMAPS that you do not tolerate well.

Dr. Muir said a dietitian plays an important role in the implementation of the FODMAP diet.

A dietitian will make sure that your diet is nutritionally adequate while following the FODMAP program. They will check for any problems that may require you to be referred back to your GP. They will also help determine how strict the diet needs to be; it is not a one-size-fits-all diet, she said.

Joanna Baker, an accredited practicing dietitian and founder ofEveryday Nutrition, said while the low FODMAP diet is typically suitable for people with IBS symptoms, it is important to see a doctor first and get screened for the symptoms.

IBS type symptoms are not dangerous and management is purely about getting symptoms settled and improving quality of life. However, these abdominal symptoms can also be triggered by more sinister medical conditions like coeliac disease, IBD or even cancers. Since these conditions do cause serious health complications and have specific medical or dietary treatments, its imperative for people to see their doctor first, she said.

The next step would be to see a dietitian who can address dietary changes that can help with managing the symptoms, Ms. Baker said.

When I see someone, I am looking at the types of symptoms they get, what they have tried successfully or unsuccessfully in the past, the foods that they are currently eating, the foods they suspect are problematic for them and their medical history. Its really a combination of all of these aspects that I use to determine if a low FODMAP diet is the right approach.

When navigating a low FODMAP diet or managing a long-term dietary requirement, it can be easy for others to have the misconception that you are being a fussy eater. To overcome this, Ms. Baker said it helps to talk about it openly to family and friends.

I think its good to have an elevator speech ready to go. It needs to be short, brief and to the point. Something like: My doctor has put me on a special diet to see if it helps with my gut symptoms. Right now, it seems to be working really well and Im making a lot of progress. I think once you say that your doctor has recommended it, it makes a big difference, she said.

Jennifer Graham first went on a low FODMAP diet in January 2016 after traveling in Vietnam and becoming ill.

When she returned to Australia, doctors concluded she had a parasite and was put on a strong course of medication. Unfortunately, this made her symptoms worse and leaving the house became difficult.

It seemed that the only foods I could stomach were rice and plain chicken broth. Food had become my enemy. I lost over 15kgs and had too many tests to count before the doctors finally diagnosed it as IBS, she said.

It was recommended that I try the low FODMAP diet, alongside my other treatments, to help relieve my symptoms.

Once her symptoms were better managed, Ms. Graham slowly reintroduced some moderate and high FODMAP foods back into her diet.

This stage of the diet is really important to be able to identify your own personal food triggers. For example, I know I definitely have to stay away from garlic, onion, and honey but I can have generous serves of wheat bread and avocado (which become high FODMAP at a certain serving size). This has made it easier to be able to enjoy my favorite foods again and eat out without feeling ill, she said.

Ms. Graham has used several tools to guide her low FODMAP journey. She consulted with a dietician, used FODMAP-friendly apps and found support in social media groups where she connects with other fodmappers.

She also started a blog calledFussy Fodmapperwhere she shares low FODMAP shops, dining venues, products, and recipes.

For Ms. Graham, going on a low FODMAP diet has been life-changing.

The best outcome of doing a low FODMAP diet is that I can leave the house again. In the beginning, I was too anxious to go anywhere in case I needed the toilet in a hurry. Now I feel much more comfortable in living my life again.

This article first appeared on She Defined.

Follow this link:
What is the low FODMAP diet and how can it help people with gut issues? - Ladders

Since the festive season is around the corner, it is finally time to shed the extra fat and embark on a journey towards fitness. We all try different diets and exercises for weight loss but it is not necessary that they should all workout for everyone inthe same way. Including fibre in your daily diet goes a long way in losing weight.

ALSO READ | Tomato Benefits: Four Ways It Can Help Your Skin

Tomatoes contain very less amount of calories. If you consume even two tomatoes on a daily basis, you will betaking less than fivecalories. The fewer calories you consume, the more you are bound to lose. This makes tomatoes a great snack as well.

ALSO READ | After Onions, Tomato Price Surges To Rs 80 Per Kg In Delhi

Tomatoes are high in fibre and fibre plays a crucial role in losing weight. The fibre present in tomatoes prevents the absorption of fat molecules in your body. A fibre diet also helps in better digestion of food in the stomach.

Tomatoes are rich in an antioxidant known as lycopene. Having tomatoes on a daily basis reduces oxidative stress in the body. This, in turn,reducesfat accumulation and weight gain. Thus, tomato makes a great addition in your diet if you are trying tolose weight.

ALSO READ | GM Diet Plan: The Complete 7-day Diet Plan Which Helps You Lose Weight

Consuming tomatoes on a daily basis helps to reduce the levels of bad cholesterol in the body. It also helps in increasingthe levels of good cholesterol in the body as well. This can prove to be beneficial in your weight loss journey. Good cholesterol also helps to prevent the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

ALSO READ | Egg Recipes: 3 Easy-to-make Egg Dishes At Home | Healthy Egg Recipes

More here:
Tomato: How does tomato help in weight loss? | Benefits of tomato diet - Republic World - Republic World

Type 2 diabetes means a persons pancreas doesnt produce enough insulin to regulate their blood sugar levels. Overtime, unchecked blood sugar levels can hike the risk of heart disease and stroke. Fortunately, certain dietary decisions can compensate and control blood sugar levels. Evidence supports adding a certain seed to ones diet.

Evidence suggests fenugreek seeds boast blood-sugar lowering properties. Fenugreek seeds are derived from an aromatic plant that is a staple in curries and other Indian recipes. The seeds can be consumed both whole and in powdered form as a spice.

According to Diabetes.co.uk, fenugreek seeds (trigonella foenum graecum) are high in soluble fibre, which helps lower blood sugar by slowing down digestion and absorption of carbohydrates. This suggests they may be effective in treating people with diabetes, explained the health site.

Multiple studies have been carried out to investigate the potential anti-diabetic benefits of fenugreek.

Notably, several clinical trials showed that fenugreek seeds can improve most metabolic symptoms associated with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in humans by lowering blood glucose levels and improving glucose tolerance.

In one study, researchers in India found that adding 100 grams of defatted fenugreek seed powder to the daily diet of patients with insulin-dependent (type 1) diabetes significantly reduced their fasting blood glucose levels, improved glucose tolerance and also lowered total cholesterol, LDL or bad cholesterol and triglycerides.

Over time, high levels of LDL cholesterol can damage a persons arteries, contribute to heart disease, and increase their risk having a stroke.

In another controlled trial, incorporating 15 grams of powdered fenugreek seed into a meal eaten by people with type 2 diabetes reduced the rise in post-meal blood glucose, while a separate study found that taking 2.5 grams of fenugreek twice a day for three months lowered blood sugar levels in people with mild, but not severe, type 2 diabetes.

Furthermore, research suggests that eating baked goods, such as bread, made with fenugreek flour may reduce insulin resistance in people with type 2 diabetes.

A certain superfood has also been shown to lower blood sugar levels.

What is the best diet for managing blood sugar?

Low-carb diets offer myriad health benefits for people with type 2 diabetes. As Diabetes.co.uk explained: The diet has allowed many people with type 2 diabetes to resolve their diabetes, that is to get their blood sugar levels into a non-diabetic range without the help of medication.

The benefits for blood sugar control are primarily down to cutting down on carbohydrates. Carbohydrate is the nutrient which has the greatest effect in terms of raising blood sugar levels and requires the most insulin to be taken or be produced by the body, explained the health site.

The diet is also rich in vegetables and natural, real foods which aids weight loss - another key component of blood sugar control.

What are the symptoms of type 2 diabetes?

Many people have type 2 diabetes without realising. This is because symptoms do not necessarily make a person feel unwell.

According to the NHS, symptoms of type 2 diabetes include:

See the rest here:
Type 2 diabetes: Add this seed to your diet to lower your blood sugar - Express

Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect a persons heart. It includes blood vessel diseases, such as coronary artery disease; heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias); and heart defects a person is born with (congenital heart defects). In addition to keeping active, most cases of heart disease can be prevented by following a heart-healthy diet. The advice can sometimes seem conflicting and inaccessible, however.

According to Dr. Francisco Lopez-Jimenez, resident cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, there isnt a food that is going offer the best approach to heart health. The best defence lies in sticking to general dietary principles, he said.

Here are three easy and accessible dietary rules to ward off the risk of heart disease:

Keep it natural

As Dr Lopez-Jimenez explained: Looking at everything we eat, the closer it is to mother nature - the fewer human hands, machines and additives have touched it - the better it is going to be for us.

The combination of all the nutrients that come out of the ground, whether it be green, purple or blue emphasises a healthy pattern of eating and is actually more science-based than focusing on individual foods, he said.

People should generally avoid processed foods, according Dr Lopez-Jimenez. This will help people people to avoid hidden risks posed by added oils, salt and fried foods. Canned foods are also generally to be avoided, he said.

He added: Patients and people get confused by all the conflicting advice but it is a lot simpler to think that a fresh or frozen vegetable is better for me than one that is all cooked up.

Fruit and veg servings

I do recommend at least five servings of fruits and vegetables and preferably nine servings per day of fruits and vegetables and include variety, advised Dr Lopez-Jimenez.

Evidence confirms the health benefits of upping a persons daily vegetable intake. One study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, found that the risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced by about a quarter in people who ate 800 grams of fruit and vegetables every day, compared with those who ate very little or no fruits and vegetables.

Keep it local

Localised produce will have retained more of their nutrients than imported produce, explained Dr Lopez-Jimenez.

Even if they look nice there will have been a degradation of nutrients along the way, he said.

For optional health benefits, people should also try and eat foods in season, he added.

Cut down on meat

As Dr Lopez-Jimenez explained: You dont have to be a vegetarian to be healthy but there is a lot of data that says getting more of our protein from plant-based foods such as legumes is also healthier.

Why? Plant-based foods are full of fibre and different types of protein. They also avoid saturated fats - a major trigger of heart disease, he said.

Numerous evidence supports this advice. One large-scale meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Heart Association People who ate the most plant-based foods overall had a:

Find out the best exercise to reduce the risk of heart disease here.

Read the rest here:
Heart disease: Three dietary tips to keep the risks at bay - Express

Grey hair home remedies: Consuming a mixture of yogurt and yeast can help in reducing grey scale

Grey hair home remedies: Wait, what? Did you just notice a few grey strands of hair on your kid? It surely can be upsetting. Poor lifestyle is one of the top causes of premature greying of hair. At times, grey hair at an early age may also be because of genetics. Vitamin B 12 deficiency, some kinds of anaemia and thyroid disorders may also be responsible for grey hair in children. Thus, the key to preventing premature greying of hair in your child is probably making sure that your child gets proper nutrition through a healthy balanced diet.

Restrict the amount of junk food, fries, ice creams, candies and chocolates for your kids. Make sure that most of their meals in a day or from healthy, homemade, nutritious and natural ingredients. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, leafy green vegetables, milk and dairy products are all important for health and well-being of your child. Together, they form a healthy diet, which can prevent premature greying of hair in kids.

Treat grey hair in kids by ensuring they get proper nutritionPhoto Credit: iStock

However, if the grey scale in your child is occurring because of genetics or any other medical condition, following are the home remedies that can help you.

Also read:Yes, You Can Stop Premature Greying. Here's How!

We have previously spoken about the benefits of curry leaves for hair. Well, these underrated leaves can help in reducing grey hair. All you need to do is boil curry leaves in oil until they turn black. Massage the oil on kids's hair. Repeat 2-3 times in a week until you get good results.

Consuming a mixture of yogurt and yeast can help in reducing grey scale. You can simply apply yogurt on kids'hair. It will naturally condition your hair and also make them shinier.

Amla or gooseberry has been ancient Ayurvedic remedy for most hair problems. You can boil a few pieces of amla in coconut oil and massage it gently on your scalp. You can use amla water to wash your child's hair. Just soak amla in water overnight and use it for hair wash. It can naturally reduce grey hair in kids. Another way to use amla for premature greying of hair is by mixing amla and almond oil. Leave it the mixture of oil overnight and apply it on your massage. Leave this hair oil on your scalp over night and apply 2-3 times in a week till you get effective results.

Amla can help in treating grey hairPhoto Credit: iStock

Also read:Premature Greying Of Hair And Other Reasons Why Mustard Oil Needs To Make A Comeback To Your Bathroom Shelves

Black tea can work as an effective home remedy for grey hair. Simply boil black tea leaves in water and let the solution aside to cool. Apply the water on your kids' hair once the solution has cooled down. Leave it for an hour and then take him/her for a head bath. Do not shampoo. You can repeat this once in two weeks. Black tea water can stain hair and darken them naturally.

Also read:Haircare Tips: Bid Good Bye To Grey Hair, Hair Fall And Dandruff With This Hair Oil

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

DoctorNDTV is the one stop site for all your health needs providing the most credible health information, health news and tips with expert advice on healthy living, diet plans, informative videos etc. You can get the most relevant and accurate info you need about health problems like diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, weight loss and many other lifestyle diseases. We have a panel of over 350 experts who help us develop content by giving their valuable inputs and bringing to us the latest in the world of healthcare.

Read the original here:
Balanced Diet And 4 Other Home Remedies To Treat Grey Hair In Kids - Doctor NDTV