Danny Toffel is certainly a determined man.

After making a fortune in the computer industry he retired at just 29 and invested his money in the stock market.

But he lost everything in the space of just six months back in 2000 when he was declared bankrupt.

It was workaholic Danny's determination that led to him starting his new business, Watches2U .

The 49-year-old explained: "I set up the business so I could order a pizza over the phone. I couldn't get a debit card, I had to use a cash card."

With just 40 and operating out of a garden shed, Danny started selling watches on eBay to supplement his family's income.

That was in 2002 and the business has now grown to become Britain's biggest independent retailer of branded watches.

Last year it had a turnover of 12million.

However, with Danny's newfound success he was seriously risking his health.

He worked huge hours and didn't take a single day off for seven years straight.

His immense work ethic also meant his diet suffered, with him choosing quick and easy takeaway foods to satisfy his hunger.

Danny said: "I don't remember exactly what I ate but I used to have two steaks for dinner and if a ready meal was for two people, I would eat two of them, so I was eating enough for four.

"When I went out to eat I didn't care what I ate, I only cared about it being a large portion."

His weight ballooned to 25 stone and Danny had also developed a hobby that was making his eating patterns even more erratic - poker.

He said: "I was working 15 hours a day, every day and then playing poker until late into the night.

"I was a rubbish husband and father because it was all about work or poker."

Then, when his wife, Katrina, was desperately struggling with the demands of running the family home, Danny realised he needed to change.

He quit smoking five years ago but realised his weight was still a massive issue.

He said: "I've always done silly diets but as soon as I'd lose the weight I'd put it back on.

"I started to get liver disease because of my weight and I went on holiday determined to shed some pounds - but ended up putting even more on."

That's when Danny knew he wanted to take drastic action to deal with his weight and decided to have a gastric sleeve fitted to help him shed the pounds.

He admits he was nervous before the two and a half hour surgery but just an hour after he left the operating theatre, he was back at work.

The weight began to fall off and Danny also developed a love of the gym.

It took him six months to drop from 23 stone to just 16. He is now a svelte 14 stone with a medium top and a 34ins waist.

And Danny's diet could not be more different. Gone are the takeaways, which have been replaced with a fresh soup for lunch every day.

He said: "I eat a lot of fish, I can't eat steak any more or a lot of meat or bread."

Although it isn't just Danny's waistline that has seen the benefit of his new healthy lifestyle.

He says he is now a much better father, with his spare time now revolving around his family and not poker.

He spends more time with his two daughters Eleanor, 15, and 13-year-old Christina, who he named his succesful accessories website, ChrisElli after.

Danny added: "I'm now home every night with the kids and I have a great relationship with my wife. We go out and do a lot more stuff as a family.

"I play tennis four times a week and I go to the sauna in the gym evey day at 3.30pm to get away from everything for an hour.

"It's changed my whole mindset. I've thrown all my old clothes out because I won't be needing them again."

Read more:
Man who started 12m business with 40 in a shed is unrecognisable after weight loss - Mirror Online

Jean-Claude Juncker has talked up the prospects of a Brexit extension beyond 31 October as EU officials downplayed the chances of a breakthrough in time for this weeks crunch summit.

As talks on Johnsons latest Brexit proposals continued in Brussels, the European commission president said he would back a prolongation of the UKs membership if it was sought.

Its up to the Brits to decide if they will ask for an extension, Juncker told the Austrian newspaper the Kurier on Sunday. But if Boris Johnson were to ask for extra time which probably he wont I would consider it unhistoric to refuse such a request.

Johnson updated his cabinet on Sunday lunchtime about the state of play in negotiations with Brussels before a make-or-break week for his premiership.

Counties and customs

Inside the EU, both Ireland and Northern Ireland are part of the single market and customs union so share the same regulations and standards, allowing a soft or invisible border between the two.

Britains exit from the EU taking Northern Ireland with it risks a return to a hard or policed border. The only way to avoid this post-Brexit is for regulations on both sides to remain more or less the same in key areas including food, animal welfare, medicines and product safety.

The 'backstop' in Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement was intended to address this - stating that if no future trade agreement could be reached between the EU and the UK, then rules and regulations would stay as they are. This has been rejected by Brexit supporters as a 'trap' to keep the UK in the EU's customs union, which would prevent the UK striking its own independent trade deals.

There are an estimated 72m road vehicle crossings a year between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and about 14% of those crossings are consignments of goods, some of which may cross the border several times before they reach a consumer. Brexit supporters say this can be managed by doing checks on goods away from the border, but critics say it will be difficult to police this without any physical infrastructure like border posts or cameras, which could raise tensions in the divided communities of Ireland.

Interactive: A typical hour in the life of the Irish border

The prime minister is still hoping to make enough progress at a European council meeting on Thursday to be able to hold a Commons vote on his Brexit plans in a rare Saturday sitting next weekend.

After presenting what aides called a final offer to the EU27 in his party conference speech less than a fortnight ago, Johnson signalled to Dublin that he was ready to make significant concessions on the future status of Northern Ireland.

Since Johnson and the Irish taoiseach met on the Wirral last Thursday, officials have been working on an agreement that would in effect keep Northern Ireland in the UKs customs territory but apply EU tariff rates at its external border.

The proposal appears similar to Theresa Mays new customs partnership, but for Northern Ireland alone rather than the whole UK.

A dozen British officials led by Johnsons chief negotiator, David Frost, were in talks with the European commissions Brexit taskforce on Sunday but sources in Brussels downplayed the possibility of a major breakthrough.

A Northern Ireland-only backstop as proposed by the EU in February 2018 could be landed by the European council on Thursday anything else will not, said one diplomatic source.

EU officials have privately warned that at best a technical extension taking the UKs membership of the bloc beyond 31 October will be necessary to work through the details of Johnsons new approach to the issue of customs.

Speaking on Sunday, Ireland's agriculture minister Michael Creed, a senior member of Varadkars cabinet, said: There are very significant issues to be addressed here. We are not there yet.

Brexit is expected to be high on the agenda when the French president, Emmanuel Macron, hosts the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, at a dinner at the lyse Palace on Sunday evening.

Mays customs plan was vehemently rejected by Brexiters as impractical. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the then chair of the hardline European Research Group of Tory MPs, described it as completely cretinous, impractical, bureaucratic and a betrayal of common sense.

But Rees-Mogg, who is now leader of the House of Commons, made clear on Sunday he and other leavers were prepared to compromise.

Boris Johnson is somebody who even the most arch-Eurosceptic, even a member of the Brexit party, can trust and have confidence in, he said.

Asked by Sophy Ridge on Sky News if he might have to eat his words on the idea of a customs partnership, Rees-Mogg added: I dont know but theres a line from Churchill saying hed often had to eat his own words and he found it a very nourishing diet. That is something that happens in politics but it is ultimately a question of trust and about the direction in which we are going.

Nevertheless, government insiders remain cautious about the likelihood of securing an agreement that could be put to the Commons on Saturday and winning a majority for it.

One pointed out that Theresa Mays government believed it would win MPs support for her deal, when it was put to the Commons for a third time in March but it was rejected, by a majority of 58.

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EU ready to grant Brexit extension in build-up to key summit - The Guardian

Vanessa Percher, head chef at Chef Veganessa, with her vegan Thanksgiving dish, lentil and mushroom loaf with roasted walnuts, miso gravy, roasted butternut squash mash, string beans and orange cranberry sauce in Beaconsfield on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019.Dave Sidaway / jpg

This long weekend, you can give some turkeys something to be thankful for by trying a meat-free feast for Thanksgiving.

With the growth in popularity in veganism and vegetarian diets, it seems every family now has one or several members who have adopted meat-free eating, either for ethical reasons, health or environmental concerns.

Its not foreign anymore; were definitely in the age of plant-based food, said le-Perrot resident Vanessa Percher, the owner of Chef Veganessa.

Thanksgiving is a favourite time of year for Percher, and not only because she does brisk business selling vegan holiday meals, but because she loves preparing a traditional meal with all the trimmings.

Its my favourite dish, said Percher, who has been running the Beaconsfield-based meal delivery business for the last 10 years. Its a lentil loaf with nothing artificial. Its got brown rice, mushrooms and walnuts. Its a very savoury loaf, and it comes with roasted butternut squash mash. Its comfort food, whether youre (on a plant-based diet) or not.

Percher found out she had celiac disease about 10 years ago when working as a pastry chef at Bich restaurant, now known as Ristorante Beatrice. She adopted a vegan diet for health reasons around the same time and realized there was a need for healthy gluten-free and vegan meal options.

When I found out that I was not able to taste the food I was making, I had a problem, Percher said. I realized there was a rise in allergies, so I decided to focus on cooking for people who are limited in what they can eat.

Chef Veganessa delivers weekly gluten-free and vegan meals ready to reheat or freeze for later, it also has a small takeout counter at the storefront in Elm Plaza. Saturday was a busy day for Percher, delivering special holiday meals, as the store is closed Sundays and Mondays.

For those who are trying to cut back on meat, or hosting a vegetarian or vegan in their family for the first time, Percher recommends going to the organic section of a grocery store, or visiting a specialty grocery store to find plant-based alternatives to turkey. They include a Tofurky loaf, made with soy, or the Gardein Holiday Roast. Percher said cooking for vegetarians doesnt have to be overly complicated and can be as easy as buying vegetarian ground beef, which is available in most grocery stores and substituting that for the real thing.

The website of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals also has recipes and suggestions for meat-free products. They include ordering a vegan loaf from Rosemont-based Caf Dei Campi.

If youre going out for dinner, some popular vegan restaurants are Lov andLola Rosa. At Westmount and Mile End-based Aux Vivres, you can either dine in or you take home their products either from take-put counters attached to the restaurants or at partner distributors like Metro, IGA, Rachelle Bery and Tau grocery stores. Montreal-based Gusta also offers plant-based sausages and seitan loaves. It has a counter at the Jean-Talon Market and products available at many grocery stores and retailers throughout the country. For dessert, Sophie Sucre on Pins Ave. at the corner of De Bullion St., is another option. Its products are also available at cafs and restaurants throughout the region. On its fall manu, the bakery features a brown sugar spice cake with pumpkin icing, among other treats.

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How to have a meat-free Thanksgiving: advice from vegans - Montreal Gazette

Three weeks is all it takes for dietary changes to reduce the symptoms of depression, a study in Australia has found. Young adults with depression whose diets contained high amounts of processed foods, sugar and fats, exhibited significantly fewer signs of depression after 21 days of consuming more fruit, vegetables, fish and lean meats.

Heather Francis and her colleagues at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, studied 76 students aged 17-35 with poor diets who exhibited moderate to high symptoms of depression.

The students were randomly split into 2 groups: one in which the students continued with their existing diets and another that received advice on healthy eating, a hamper of healthy foods and AU$60 (approx. 33) towards groceries.

Read more about depression treatment:

The researchers assessed each student for depression, anxiety and overall mood before and after the three-week test period, and also rated their performance on several learning and reasoning tasks.

At the end of the 3 weeks, the healthy eating group showed significant improvement in mood, with depression scores dropping into the normal range. Scores for the students who stuck to eating unhealthily remained in the moderate-to-high range.

Depression is a condition that affects your mental health. People who suffer from depression may experience intense feelings of hopelessness, anxiety and negativity for an extended period of time. Depression can present itself forms such as seasonal depression and persistent depressive disorder.

Symptoms include sleeping problems, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, changes in appetite and suicidal thoughts. Medical treatment includes antidepressants such as Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors, while cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can be an alternative to drugs.

The healthy diet group also showed significantly lower anxiety scores than the unhealthy diet group, though other measures were not significantly different between the groups.

The researchers checked in with 33 of the students 3 months after the test and found that while only 21 per cent of them stuck with the healthy diet, those that did managed to maintain their improvements in mood.

Modifying diet to reduce processed food intake and increase consumption of fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil improved depression symptoms in young adults, say the studys authors. These findings add to a growing literature showing a modest change to diet is a useful adjunct therapy to reduce symptoms of depression.

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A healthy diet could reduce the symptoms of depression - sciencefocus.com

Theres a decent chance youll be reading about diet soda studies until the day you die. (The odds are exceedingly good it wont be the soda that kills you.)

The latest batch of news reports came last month, based on another study linking diet soda to an increased risk of death.

As usual, the study (and some of the articles) lacked some important context and caused more worry than was warranted. There are specific reasons that this cycle is unlikely to end.

1. If its artificial, it must be bad.

People suspect, and not always incorrectly, that putting things created in a lab into their bodies cannot be good. People worry about genetically modified organisms, and monosodium glutamate and, yes, artificial sweeteners because they sound scary.

But everything is a chemical, including dihydrogen monoxide (thats another way of saying water). These are just words we use to describe ingredients. Some ingredients occur naturally, and some are coaxed into existence. That doesnt inherently make one better than another. In fact, Ive argued that research supports consuming artificial sweeteners over added sugars. (The latest study concludes the opposite.)

2. Soda is an easy target

In a health-conscious era, soda has become almost stigmatized in some circles (and sales have fallen as a result).

Its true that no one needs soda. There are a million varieties, and almost none taste like anything in nature. Some, like Dr Pepper, defy description.

But there are many things we eat and drink that we dont need. We dont need ice cream or pie, but for a lot of people, life would be less enjoyable without those things.

None of this should be taken as a license to drink cases of soda a week. A lack of evidence of danger at normal amounts doesnt mean that consuming any one thing is huge amounts is a good idea. Moderation still matters.

3. Scientists need to publish to keep their jobs

Im a professor on the research tenure track, and Im here to tell you that the coin of the realm is grants and papers. You need funding to survive, and you need to publish to get funding.

As a junior faculty member, or even as a doctoral student or postdoctoral fellow, you need to publish research. Often, the easiest step is to take a large data set and publish an analysis from it showing a correlation between some factor and some outcome.

This kind of research is rampant. Thats how we hear year after year that everyone is dehydrated and we need to drink more water. Its how we hear that coffee is affecting health in this way or that. Its how we wind up with a lot of nutritional studies that find associations in one way or another.

As long as the culture of science demands output as the measure of success, these studies will appear. And given that the news media also needs to publish to survive if you didnt know, people love to read about food and health well continue to read stories about how diet soda will kill us.

4. Prestigious institutions and the press

To do the kinds of analyses described here, you need large data sets that researchers can pore over. Building the data set is the hardest part of the work.

Analyzing the numbers on hundreds of thousands of people isnt childs play. But gathering the data is much more expensive and time-consuming.

Because of this, a few universities produce a disproportionate amount of the research on these topics. They also tend to be the universities with the most resources and the most recognizable names. Because theyre also usually prestigious, they attract more researchers and more funding to build bigger and newer data sets.

They also get more media attention because of having access to more researchers, prestige and funding. If the research is coming out of a super-respected institution, it must be important.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

5. We still dont understand the limitations of observational studies

No matter how many times you stress the difference between correlation and causation, people still look at increased risk and determine that the risk is causing the bad outcome. For reporting on hundreds of thousands of people, observational studies are generally the only realistic option. With very few exceptions, they can tell us only if two things are related, not whether one is to blame for the other (as opposed to randomized control trials).

With respect to diet sodas, its plausible that the people who tend to drink them also tend to be worried about their weight or health; it could be a recent heart attack or other health setback that is causing the consumption rather than the other way around. But you shouldnt assume that diet sodas cause better health either; it could be that more health-conscious people avoid added sugars.

Many of these new observational studies add little to our understanding. At some point, a study with 200,000 participants isnt better than one with 100,000 participants, because almost all have limitations often the same ones that we cant fix.

Dr. John Ioannidis wrote in a seminal editorial: Individuals consume thousands of chemicals in millions of possible daily combinations. For instance, there are more than 250,000 different foods and even more potentially edible items, with 300,000 edible plants alone.

And yet, he added, much of the literature silently assumes disease risk is governed by the most abundant substances; for example, carbohydrates or fats. We dont know what else is at play, and using observational studies, we never will.

(Observational research is still the best way to study population-wide risk factors; sophisticated techniques like regression discontinuity can even create quasi-randomized groups to try to get closer to understanding causality. Too few employ such techniques.)

Moreover, too many reports still focus only on the relative risk and not on the absolute risk. If a risk increases by 10 percent, for example, that sounds bad. But if the baseline risk is 0.1 percent, that 10 percent increase winds up moving the baseline to only 0.11 percent.

It would probably be a public service if we stopped repeating a lot of this research and stopped reporting on it breathlessly. If thats impossible, the best people can do is stop paying so much attention.

Read more here:
Five Reasons the Diet Soda Myth Wont Die - The New York Times

Millions of people up and down the UK are full of praise for the transformative effect taking up running has had on their lives. For Snita Sharma, a 51-year-old self-employed estate agent from Buckinghamshire, running has been truly a life-changing experience. Snita struggled to manage her diabetes for several years before taking up running and overhauling her diet and successfully managed to completely put her condition into remission. After being diagnosed 10 years ago with Type 2 diabetes, having put on weight due to a diet of high in fat Indian food, takeaways, crisps, and fizzy drinks.

Coupled with an inactive lifestyle, she reached 11 stone - three stone overweight.

Despite her diagnosis, Snita says she was fairly complacent when it came to managing her condition.

She said:Diabetes has had a really serious impact on my life. For the first eight or nine years I didnt really care and just ate what I wanted and took my medication but I never felt good and was always tired, hungry and experiencing mood swings.

With blood sugar levels on the rise and fearing that her lifestyle was putting her at risk of complications such as sight loss and amputation, Snita was challenged by her family to take control and properly managing her condition.

She continued:After turning 49 I wrote a list with my family of all the things I wanted to do before I turned 50. They challenged me to put my Type 2 diabetes into remission by going on a strict diet.

My husband tookmeto a nearby leisure centre where we saw a notice about a beginners running club. I started running and my blood sugar levels started to slowly come down.

After catching the running bug and and participating in extra training throughout the week, as well as an improved diet of chicken, vegetables and low-fat Indian options too, Snita found that her weight was dropping as well.

Losing weight has helped me to put the condition into remission. As soon as I started to lose weight my blood sugar levels stated to come down.

I felt so much better and got faster as a result, which helped me lose even more weight.

Anita is effusive in her praise for the impact running has had on her life and recently delivered a talk, with the help of Diabetes UK, on the life-chasing effect it can have on other people living with diabetes.Later this year, she will take part in the iconic Simplyhealth Great South Run, part of a series of mass participation running events which have partnered with Diabetes UK, to encourage more people to become more active.

She revealed: The impact running has had on my life has been huge. If I hadnt joined my running club and got the support Ive had from my coach and the rest of the group I wouldnt have kept it up.

Running has really helped my diabetes by getting me fitter and forcing me to address my diet, which together have helped my diabetes enter into remission.

Getphysical, regular exercise can help keep off weight. Previously it has been reported that people who increase physical activity along with reducing calorie intake will help you lose more body fat than people who only diet.

Eat breakfast. The most effective diabetes diets include a healthy breakfast. If you end up skipping breakfast in can eat to overeating later in the day. For Type 2 diabetes the best breakfast associated with weight loss is sugar-free, high in fibre cereal.

Cut down on calories. The exact number of calories that people on a diabetes diet should consume depends on a number of factors such as; age, gender, current weight, activity level, and body type.

A goal of 1,200 to 1,800 calories per day for women and between 1,400 and 2,000 calories per day for men, should be taken into consideration when creating a diet plan.

Eat mini-meals. A diabetes diet plan with three - or smaller regular meals spread out through the day - is more effective than plans that include one or two big meals. Eating smaller meals more frequently will help keep glucose levels lower, as having a larger meal can cause blood sugar levels to surge.

Get support. Staying motivated to stick to a weight-loss plan can be extremely difficult when you dont have the relevant support. Connect with others, either support groups or activity groups to keep you motivated and provide you with the emotional support to avoid giving up.

Simplyhealth has partnered with Diabetes UK for the 2019 Simplyhealth Great Run Series. For expert tips and training advice visitwww.greatrun.org/training-simplyhealth

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Weight loss: Woman loses three stone and overhauls diabetes with this diet plan - Express

High blood pressure happens when the force of blood pushing against a persons artery walls is consistently too high. If left untreated, this can raise a persons risk of developing heart disease. Luckily, making simple dietary tweaks can lower a persons reading and ward off the threat. Evidence backs drinking a popular fruit juice.

According to findings presented at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research 2012 Scientific Sessions, regularly drinking low-calorie cranberry juice may help get a persons blood pressure under control.

To investigate the effects of drinking low-calorie cranberry juice on blood pressure control, participants drank either low-calorie juice or a placebo drink every day for eight weeks as part of a controlled diet.

Blood pressure was measured at the beginning, mid-point and end of the study. After eight weeks, blood pressure values had significantly dropped from an average of 121/73 mmHg to 118/70 mmHg for those drinking the low-calorie cranberry juice. The placebo group showed no change.

According to the NHS, an ideal blood pressure reading is to be between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. High blood pressure is considered to be 140/90mmHg or higher.

Researchers note that cranberry juice is rich in antioxidants - naturally occurring molecules in fruit, tea, wine and other foods - which have been associated with lower blood pressure in other studies.

Blueberries, for example, another rich source of antioxidants, have been been shown to reduce risk factors for heart disease, lowering LDL cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

High LDL cholesterol levels is a dangerous precursor to heart disease.

Dietary dos and donts

As a general rule, reducing salt intake is a surefire way to control blood pressure. The more salt you eat, the higher your blood pressure, explained the NHS.

The health body advised people eat less than 6g (0.2oz) of salt a day, which is about a teaspoonful.

It is also important to stick to a low-fat diet that includes lots of fibre, such as wholegrain rice, bread and pasta, and plenty of fruit and vegetables to lower blood pressure, noted the health site.

Find out more about what drinks to include and avoid.

In addition to diet, staying active will also help to keep blood pressure under control.

The NHS recommends adults do at least 150 minutes (two hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or fast walking, every week.

It added: Physical activity can include anything from sport to walking and gardening.

See more here:
High blood pressure: Add this juice to your diet to lower your reading - Express

A lot of us are guilty of reaching for pasta or binging on bread.

But science is showing two-thirds of Australian adults are overweight or obese - and carbohydrates are often the culprit.

Watch the full story above.

After revolutionising our diets with his best-selling cookbooks, CSIRO scientist Professor Grant Brinkworth is here to give us a health overhaul.

More on 7NEWS.com.au

"The evidence is there now," Brinkworth said.

"At the CSIRO, we're all about delivering evidence-based programs," Brinkworth said.

"And the evidence shows that dietary plans that are lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein and healthy fats is not only an effective weight loss strategy, but much better for improving your blood glucose and heart health, and also reducing the amount of diabetes medication that you require."

"A lot of people really want to follow this sort of plan, but they're time-poor," Brinkworth said.

"So what we've done is create 100 new delicious recipes that are focusing on quick and easy options - so recipes that can be cooked and prepared in less than 30 minutes.

"There's also recipes that include less than 10 ingredients, so you can throw them together and make them really quickly."

"We know from evidence that all fats aren't equal," Brinkworth said.

"While some saturated fats still cause an increased risk of heart disease, it's actually the healthy fats - the mono and polyunsaturated fats like olive oil, avocado and oily fish - that can actually help to reduce your risk of heart disease."

"Our recommendation is still to exercise for about 30 minutes a day," Brinkworth said.

"But what we've shown with our research is increasing the amount of resistance exercise is a really effective approach to do with the CSIRO low-carb diet to improve your health."

Find out more about the CSIRO Low-Carb Diet: Quick and Easy recipe book here.

More:
CSIRO reveals why a low-carb diet and resistance exercises are the key to good health - 7NEWS

Cancer is a very scary topic, and unfortunately, almost all of usare affected by the disease in some way, whether we know someone who has or had it, or we've faced it ourselves. Personally, my father died from the disease.When you have experienced it in some way, you'll do anything to reduce your own risk (and you'll push your family and friends to get on board, too).

There's no foolproof way to completely shield yourself from the diseasebecause there are so many factors herebut there are some lifestyle changes you can make to ensure you're doing all you physically can to reduce your risk. Some include quitting smoking, staying active, seeing your doctor regularly, and staying safe in the sun.

Another step you can take? Eating the right foods. Experts caution, however, there's no one food that will reduce your riskit's more about a balanced diet. "Eating healthy and making right lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of cancer," says Adil Akhtar, MD, chief of Division of Palliative and End of Life Care at Michigan Health Professionals and director of Inpatient Clinical Services at Karmanos-McLaren Oakland Cancer Center. "A plant-based diet helps to reduce the risk of cancer due to the presence of compounds called phytochemicals. Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with high-fiber content."

Colleen Doyle, MS, RD, managing director of nutrition and physical activity for the American Cancer Society agrees, adding the synergy between many nutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants) give the most protection. It's also about keeping an eye on your weight, she says: "Another key issue is weightif you don't smoke, the most important thing you can do to reduce your risk of cancer is to watch your weight. Sowhatyou eat is important, but even more important ishow much you eat."

Now, you might be wondering what exactly is included in this diet recommendationboth Akhtar and Doyle outlined some nutrient-packed foods below.

We've talked about the health benefits of broccoli, cauliflower, and other cruciferous veggies before, so it's no surprise that they can help reduce your cancer risk, too. "These contain sulforaphane, a phytochemical that may reduce the risk of stomach, breast, and skin cancers," Doyle says. The vegetables might also prevent esophageal, mouth, and pharyngeal cancers, Akhtar adds.

Walmart Grocery Broccoli Crowns ($1)

Doyle recommends adding these to your grocery list. "Berries are thought to offer particularly powerful cancer-preventive effects because they contain antioxidants like polyphenols, including ellagic acid and anthocyanins that counteract, reduce, and repair damage to cells," she says.

Whole Foods Market Strawberries ($6)

Color is everything here, that's because orange fruits and vegetablesare loaded with beta-carotene, which, according to Doyle, is an antioxidant thought to protect cell membranes from damage. So load up on carrots, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, and mangoes. Akhtar adds that berries also contain vitamin C as well.

365 Everyday Value Organic Carrots ($4)

This also includes any red fruit or vegetable like watermelon and pink grapefruit. "Lycopene is an antioxidant found in these (and other foods) that give them their red color. It's thought to be associated with reduced risk of prostate cancer," Doyle says.

Walmart Grocery Tomatoes on the Vine ($2)

Akhtar says grapes contain high levels of an antioxidant called resveratrol. Some studies have found that it can reduce inflammation and has antitumor properties. It's important to note that more research needs to be done on its capabilities, however.

Whole Foods Market Red Seedless Organic Grapes ($2)

"Besides being low in calories and packedwith fiber and phytochemicals, they are a great source of protein, and therefore make a good alternative to red meat," Doyle says.

365 Everyday Value Organic Black Beans ($3)

Keep the breath mints on hand.Doylecites somestudiesthat suggest garlic can reduce the risk of colon cancer. "It contains allyl sulfides, which, at least in the lab, inhibit colon tumor formation and cell growth," she says.

Walmart Grocery Fresh Garlic ($4)

Doyle cautions that studies linking whole grains to reduced cancer risk are inconsistent, but they are higher in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals than refined grains, so that's why there's information out there that it may helpprevent colon cancer. While the jury's still out on a definitive answer, Doyle recommends adding whole grains to your diet anyway since it's better for your overall health.

Lundberg Family Farms Organic Quinoa, Tri-Color Blend ($6)

"There is not much evidence showing that including more fish in your diet reduces cancer risk; however, eating red (beef, pork, lamb) and processed meats (bacon, ham, sausage, etc.) increases the risk of colon cancer," Doyle says. She recommends substituting fish for these meats, plus it can also reduce your risk of heart disease, too.

Whole Foods Market Salmon Fillet Atlantic Farm Raised ($10)

When it comes to food, there are some things you should avoid or consume in moderation. The most important change you can make, though, is to quit smokingyou can eat all of the foods above and work out like crazy, but if you continue to smoke, you're still at risk, and it's probably canceling out all the other lifestyle steps you're taking. Below, are some other foods to watch out for.

This goes along with the fish recommendation above. Akhtar says both are associated with a higher risk or incidence of cancers.

According to the American Cancer Society, drinking alcohol is linked to a higher risk of mouth and throat, liver, colorectal, and breast cancers. "Alcohol is converted in the body to a chemical called acetaldehyde, which causes DNA damage," Akhtar says. "Alcohol is also a sugar and is rich in calories." But you don't have to abstain completelyjust don't go overboard. The ACS recommends limiting consumption to one drink per day for women and two for men.

Limitingyoursugar intake can help, too, since this will help you maintain a healthy weight. TheACS says being overweight or obese is linked to breast, colon, and pancreatic cancers. The2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting calories from added sugar to no more than 10% each day. So, for a 2000-calorie diet, that means 200 calories or about 12 teaspoons.

Overall, to reduce your cancer risk, you're going to have to rethink or adjust your habits as a whole. And if you've been adhering to a not-so-healthy lifestyle so far, that doesn't mean you're out of luck. Akhtar gives some optimistic advice: "It's never too late for making changes in your habits. But the commitment cannot only be to be changing the diet; it has to be changing your lifestyle. Quit smoking and quit or limit alcohol drinking. Start on a regular exercise program to control your weight. Eat a healthy balanced diet."

Next up: I'm a 25-Year-Old Cancer Survivor, and These Are the Foods I Eat Now

This article originally appeared on The Thirty

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This Is the Best Diet to Reduce Your Cancer Risk, According to an Oncologist - Yahoo Lifestyle

Over the past year, I've slowly been gaining weight. And although I'm working out a lot and gaining muscle (thank you, CrossFit!), this wasn't just muscle weight. I went to my doctor to get my blood sugar and thyroid levels checked, but everything came back normal. As a fellow woman in her early 40s, my doctor said she'd recently tried the Noom diet, where you track your food on an app, and had lost five pounds "effortlessly." She said it made her realize that she was overeating on nuts and other fats.

As a plant-based eater, a majority of my diet is nuts, seeds, and avocados. It made me think, "Maybe I'm just overdoing it on the fats," and then I remembered the videos about the HCLF (high-carb, low-fat) vegan diet I'd recently stumbled on while looking up vegan recipes on YouTube. For an HCLF vegan diet, the macro breakdown is about 75 to 80 percent carbs, 10 to 15 percent protein, and 10 to 15 percent fats. I thought that since I was already eating a plant-based diet, maybe I should give this a try. Here's my experience after two weeks on an HCLF vegan diet.

Link:
I Tried an HCLF Vegan Diet to Lose Weight and This Is What Happened After 2 Weeks - POPSUGAR