How drastically have new advances in science changed what we know about nutrition? This week, just a little. Were looking at three studies on potatoes, coconut oil, and vegetarian diets.

The headline: Coconut Oil Is as Bad for You as Beef Fat and Butter

The story: Coconut oil is high in saturated fat, just like lard and butter, but it has a better reputation. It just seems healthier, you know? It makes your baked goods fluffy and your hair shiny. It may even have a small fat-burning effect (maybe, I repeat, maybe), but its also a big pile of calories just like any other fat or oil. So if you were thinking of it as a totally free, wholesome health food, you were already a little too optimistic.

Todays news is an advisory from the American Heart Association that says we should quit eating so much saturated fat. That includes coconut oil. But their studies dont specifically link coconut oil with heart disease, except to say that coconut oil raises LDL (bad) cholesterol as much as butter.

Cholesterol levels arent the same as disease risk, and we cant ignore previous studies that say saturated fat may not be so bad for you. Dietary fat is actually a really tricky subject, and we still dont have clear answers on whether butter or coconut oil is harmful. Its fine if you want to back away from the coconut oil. But we dont have the evidence to say if that will make a real difference to your health.

Who doesnt love logging on to the good old net on a Friday morning to the headline Coconut oil

The take-away: Coconut oil is full of calories and saturated fat, so please dont think its totally cool to eat in large quantities. If you use a lot of it in your diet (or butter or lard, for that matter), you might want to err on the side of caution and replace some of that with olive oil.

The headline: Eating French Fries Twice a Week Could Lead to Early Death, Study Says

The story: This actually comes from a study of people at risk of getting arthritis in their knees. To be included, they had to be overweight or have another reason to be especially likely to develop arthritis. When they signed up for the study, they answered a questionnaire about how often they ate different food groups in the past year.

The researchers dont say in their study whether they started off looking for data on the risks of potatoes, or whether they ran the analysis for every food in this study (and maybe other studies too?) and decided to report the one thing that turned up positive. If thats the case, the results become a lot less valid: if you look long enough, youll almost always find something that seems significant. Either way, this study cant say whether eating fries is bad for you; it just says that people who ate a lot of fries had a higher mortality rate than people who didnt. This PopSci article explains the problems in a bit more detail.

There are two really important caveats here. The researchers didnt control for two very important factors: whether people who ate fries happened to have a less healthy diet or lifestyle in total; and whether people who ate fries were lower income, which is definitely associated with worse health. And those are two big, big things to miss.

The take-away: This study does not support the idea that fries are deadly. But if you eat healthy, you probably wont have a ton of fries in your diet anyway.

The headline: Science Finds a Vegetarian Diet Is Twice as Effective in Reducing Body Weight

The story: A vegetarian diet outperformed an omnivorous diet in one recent weight loss study...sort of.

The study involved 74 people who were all overweight and had type 2 diabetes. Half of them ate a diet that was vegan except for a serving of yogurt. The other half got a pretty standard diabetes management diet. The people on the near-vegan diet lost more weight, and were more likely to stick to the diet.

Theres already reason to be skeptical: the study is small, and it was specific enough that if youre not diabetic, or if your idea of a vegetarian diet involves eggs and cheese, these results probably dont apply to you. Heres a more in-depth explanation of the studys limitations.

Another big caveat: the people on the vegetarian diet were also more likely to lose muscle, even though they were exercising.

The take-away: A very specific vegetarian diet worked well for some people, but the study is too small and limited to be generalized to all vegetarian diets for all human beings. There are a lot of different diets that work, but to find the right one for you, youll just have to try and see.

See the article here:
What to Worry About This Week: Coconut Oil, Fries, and Everything Else You're Eating - Lifehacker

Men's Health

3 Supplements That Actually Workand 3 That Are Just Wasting Your Money Men's Health In some cases, supplements can fill in the nutritional gaps that can crop up even in a healthy diet, says Brianna Elliott, R.D., a coach at nutrition counseling service EvolutionEat. But there are some nutrients that you likely to get enough of in your ...

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3 Supplements That Actually Workand 3 That Are Just Wasting Your Money - Men's Health

The aspects some eagerly anticipate with the arrival of the summer seasonwarm weather, beach trips, swimming pools, and barbecuesare the same reasons why others dread it.

As the weather warms, we shed layers of clothing; we traipse off to swimming pools and beaches in bathing suits; we hold backyard barbecues centered around food bringing us together.

We spoke with Robyn Cruze, Eating Recovery Centers National Recovery Advocate via email about what summer is like for someone who is struggling withor recovering froman eating disorder, how it affects their body image, and what you can do if you're struggling or know someone who is. Cruze herself struggled with an eating disorder for over a decade.

It seems like there has been a pushback against the notion of having a "beach body." One popular meme is a variation of the phrase "How to have a beach body. Step 1. Have a body. Step 2. Go to the beach."

"I love this message," Cruze says, but, "Sadly, I think even though this message is an uplifting and empowering sentiment, it doesnt ring true for many. Because, lets face it, whether you have an eating disorder or not, wearing a swimsuit in front of others can be pretty intimidating. Trying on swimsuits in a changing room is daunting too!"

"Totally," Cruze says, explaining, "Those with an eating disorder become hyper aware and critical of their body and tend to believe everyone else is judging them on the way they look."

Which brings Cruze to another point: "It is also a time where everyone is socializing more and food is a way that we celebrate and bond. For people with an eating disorder, these can trigger a sense of not being in control, and perpetuate eating disorder behavior to try not to feel so overwhelmed."

(As Cruze explains, to be "triggered" means "that overwhelming emotions rise when faced with situations or discussion usually around eating disorder behaviors, e.g., food and body.")

"[It's] not so much about the behavior but the mindset," Cruze explains. "We need to remember that eating disorders are mental illnesses. They stem from the brain. For someone one with an eating disorder, the change of diet and exercise has so much more attached to it than their body."

"It is about having control, medicating and numbing difficult emotions with behaviors," she continues. "Its about trying to make everything feel perfect so that they can feel better, and in turn attempt to relieve or manage an emotional burden."

"If you are working towards your recovery journey, go easy on yourself," Cruze says. "If you dont feel comfortable in a swimsuit, dont wear one. Know your triggers and challenge them safely with the guidance of your treatment team."

A tip for getting you through the summer: Dont try to do it all on your own.

"The best way to lessen emotional triggers is to share them with a close friend," Cruze suggests. "If you are a loved one of someone who is struggling with an eating disorder, be sure to ask your loved one how you can best support them through the summertime triggers. Lend them your listening ear, and although it can be hard, try to refrain from giving advice, its the best support you can give someone you love who is struggling with an eating disorder."

For additional information about Eating Recovery Center, call 877-789-5758, email info@eatingrecoverycenter.com, or visiteatingrecoverycenter.com to speak with a Masters-level clinician.

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How Summer Can Be Dangerous for Women with Eating Disorders - ATTN:

Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (press release)

Guarding the Nest Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (press release) In preparation for this moment keepers had removed Blanche's favorite food from her diet for a few weeks. She was still getting fed, but ... As Blanch feasted, we safely entered the enclosure and measured the nest before we excavated it. It had 35 eggs ...

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Guarding the Nest - Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (press release)

A judge in Belgium has convicted the parents of a seven-month-old boy who died of malnutrition after he was fed a vegan diet.

The boys parents were sentenced to a suspended six-month prison sentence Wednesday for "unintentionally" causing the child's death.

The boy, identified in court documents as Lucas, weighed just nine pounds at the time of his death in 2014. Reports indicate the boys organs had shrunk to half their normal size, and had no fat surrounding them.

The Lucas parents run a health food store in the town of Beveren, and fed him a diet of milk made from made from oats, buckwheat, rice and quinoa.

The attorney representing Lucas parents argued in court that his mother was unable to breastfeed, and that Lucas would not drink traditional formula. At that point, the parents assumed that Lucas had either a lactose or gluten allergy.

Lucas father said in court that he never took the boy to the doctor because he never noticed anything unusual," but prosecutors claimed that the parents drove the boy to a homeopathic when they noticed that he was sick.

The parents can still appeal the sentence.

Lucas parents arent the only ones to face legal trouble after putting their infant children on a vegan diet. According to Broadly, an Italian father took his childs mother to court after she forced her children to eat vegan in May 2015, and two other parents lost custody of their child in 2014 after forcing the child to eat vegan.

Read the rest here:
Vegan diet leads to infant's death, parents convicted - WKBW-TV

At Stinky Bklyn. Photo: Melissa Hom

Only six weeks have passed since Emma Straub the author of Modern Lovers, The Vacationers, Laura Lamonts Life in Pictures, and Other People We Married opened Books Are Magic, an independent bookstore in Carroll Gardens. Her eating, as a result, is slightly more erratic than usual. The big difference is that both lunch and dinner are hard now, says Straub, whos also a mother to two young children (ages 17 months and 4). Fortunately, she can always make time for pizza. Read all about it in this weeks Grub Street Diet.

Thursday, June 8My two children love cereal. They eat an organic one shaped like bunnies that turns the milk purple. Its basically Fruity Pebbles, but for people who shop at Whole Foods. On good days, like today, I have three seconds at 7 a.m. to pour myself a bowl of Cheerios and shovel a few mouthfuls in before the baby drags it away and eats it. Hes very efficient at stealing food, in part because he is very cute, but mostly because he has superhuman strength.

The baby had a special gym class, in which he was awarded a participation medal, so Im slower getting to the bookstore than usual. But it means that I get to walk by Bien Cuit, so I duck in and get two slices of something called breakfast Sicilian, or something, which is basically room-temperature pizza. One for me and one for my husband, plus as large an iced tea as theyve got.

My mother texts to see whats going on at the store, and offers to bring lunch from Hancos. Thank god Ive been in a three-hour meeting with a sales rep from Random House, and my eyes are crossed and I am dying of starvation. I make an enormous tofu bnh m vanish in about two minutes, and then run out the door to school pickup. My older son lets me eat a tiny, tiny bite of his chocolate-chip cookie. Another large iced tea, this time from the Iris Caf.

At 5:30 p.m., I eat some macaroni and cheese off the table as Im cleaning up after kiddo dinner. Okay, fine, I also eat some off the floor.

My friends Jennifer Romolini and Rumaan Alam did a terrific event at the store, and afterward, my husband and I have enough bandwidth to eat some pizza before going home. Honestly, sitting at the counter at Sals Pizzeria, our backs to a clear, warm night on Court Street, it almost feels like a date.

We stop at the grocery store on our way home, buy a thing of chocolate-covered raisins, and nearly polish them off. Romance!

Friday, June 9 We have run out of the bunny cereal, so my husband makes pancakes in order to staunch the bleeding. The baby (obviously) wants the pancakes that are on my plate. I manage to eat one or two while hes not looking.

My older son likes to pretend to be allergic to things chicken, eggs, asparagus, the list goes on and on and right now, bananas seem to be included. I eat his banana on the walk to school.

On Fridays, our babysitter leaves early, and I have to hustle home from the bookstore. I stop at Union Market to pick up lunch a fairly sad-looking salad with goat cheese and the worlds most perfect appetizer, a chocolate doughnut from Dough. The salad what joy to write these words exceeds my expectations, and the sherry-vinegar salad dressing is well above average, at least to someone who has been starved for salads. There are also some candied walnuts that I avoid, because who needs them?

I make a giant vat of iced tea, my first of the summer! Easy breezy. It also occurs to me that there is no good audience for this food diary the people who love food are going to think Im a snooze, and the people who love me are going to worry that Im only living off sugar and cheese and iced tea, because I am.

I steal some fresh mozzarella while making pizza for the kiddos. We are good at making pizza, though tonights was ruined by the Instacart shopper who bought the whole-wheat dough instead of regular. What kind of monster makes pizza with whole-wheat dough?

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that my husband and I get boxed meals from Plated. It has actually been wonderful for us we both like to cook, but have no time to plan meals, and most of the time, the meals are good. But lately, weve been so busy with the bookstore that we havent had time to select the meals they send. We end up with things like pizza tostadas. Whenever I ask my husband what Plated is coming, he says that its pizza tostadas. Tonight, its actually a chickpea-Greek-salad kind of thing, which we could very easily have made without Plated, but so it goes. At least its a salad. I do worry that were going to get the plague, or gangrene, or whatever you contract when you stop eating food that is actually good for you.

Saturday, June 10 The big kid is happily reunited with his bunny cereal, and the little one has three courses: scrambled eggs, cereal, and a banana. I manage to fry myself two eggs and make an English muffin. Julia Turshens wonderful new book, Small Victories, taught me how to fry eggs perfectly, after 37 years of doing it badly.

At a 4-year-olds birthday party, the baby and I eat a lot of cantaloupe and watermelon. The parents order really good pizza not just birthday-party pizza from Sottocasa. The four of us eat about a hundred slices. I swear, I dont only eat pizza, even though it seems like it. A friend of mine (not a doctor, but trustworthy nonetheless) told me that it didnt matter if I drank while on antibiotics. I decide to believe her.

I eat six chocolate-covered raisins while no one is looking. I eat six because there are only six left, not because Im on a Barack Obama seven almonds diet.

The children are having broccoli-rabe ravioli for dinner, and I eat one, too, because they are covered in butter and irresistible.

We have another thing from Plated, but its another pizza-tostada-type situation, so we opt for Pok Pok instead. We live close enough that we can call after the kids are in bed, and then run over in our pajamas. I have the catfish, the chaca, which is always perfect and delicious, and add some extra peanuts, because you only live once, accompanied by a Sixpoint Crisp, same reason.

Sunday, June 11 The children both eat, but somehow, I dont. We go on a family adventure to Target and Prospect Park, and stop at Joyce Bakeshop on the way. The big kid and I each eat a chocolate croissant the size of our heads, and it makes me realize that most croissants are pathetic and butterless. This one is sublime fluffy as a hotel pillow.

The baby is sleeping, and the big kid and my husband are drawing with chalk. I make us grown-ups some breakfast burritos because I am starving and want to eat everything in the fridge. My husband laughs at me for using Greek yogurt as a sour-cream substitute, but I think Im a genius.

We decide to be ambitious and go to our friends restaurant for dinner, the Meat Hook at Threes Brewing. Because I am an idiot and forget that it is the weekend, I assume that it will be empty at 5:30 p.m. We all pile into the car the four of us plus my parents and Threes is jumping. I drink a glass of rosato very quickly, because if I dont move quickly, the baby will knock it over. We get an order of asparagus with an extremely decadent sauce that tastes like cream, but my friend Ben (owner of the Meat Hook) says its something called an aquafaba, which sounds like swim class for babies. Its apparently a sort of vegan mayo made out of cooking liquid from beans, which sounds not even a tenth as delicious as it actually is.

We get an order of French fries and a cheese plate for the big kid, who is in an almost exclusive cheese period. Then a lot of roasted pork and sausage and potatoes appear, plus a truly stupendous wedge salad with the kind of dressing that tastes like it has six raw eggs in it. I want to marry the wedge salad, especially if we can be polyamorous with the sausage. The baby eats a lot of French fries and throws a lot of asparagus. I have no idea if anyone else eats anything, because I am too busy being an octopus and rescuing glasses of water and flying knives, and fishing crayons out of the babys mouth.

I really want the Mister Softee truck to drive by. It doesnt. Once, a very long time ago, I got Doug Quint and his Big Gay Ice Cream truck to make a special stop at my parents house. I would give $1 million to have that happen right at this second.

Monday, June 12 Cheerios. The baby pulls my bowl next to his and allows me every other bite, the generous boy.

Last-day-of-preschool party. I eat a blondie cut into pieces small enough for 3-year-olds to eat without going insane. My kiddo has two. There are also strawberries. I dont know what kind of bribe it would take to get my child to eat a strawberry at this particular moment in time.

Stinky is half a block away from Books Are Magic, thank god. Weve only been open for six weeks, and its still hard to find time to eat during the day there is so much to do. But Stinky is close and fast and perfect, so my husband and I eat their turkey, Gruyre, and arugula sandwiches several times a week. Sometimes, I also get a brownie, because I like to support local small businesses. I dont even like brownies.

Kiddo dinner at 5:45 p.m. I try to steal a piece of a quesadilla but am rebuffed. They both eat all of their broccoli. This is now a national holiday.

Today, I was struck by a sudden, urgent need to see Wonder Woman. We go to the Alamo Drafthouse, because that way we can eat dinner and watch the movie, instead of just doing one. I have reached the point in my life where I understand dinner theater, like in Soapdish. Man, I would love that. Do you think they serve dinner at Dear Evan Hansen?

Anyway, here is the mortifying truth: I have more pizza. I know! Its too much pizza. But heres why: At Alamo, you have to eat in the dark, and I think most things are too messy to eat in the dark, while sitting in a movie theater. Once, I ordered the burger, and it was a super-drippy mess. So now I stick to the pizzas, which they call flatbreads, because they are flat ovals. Whatever you need to tell yourself, Alamo. My husband has tacos. I have two glasses of ros. I wish theyd shown what the Amazons eat I bet they eat perfectly grilled fish and vegetables, like what I had at Threes Brewing, only maybe with less dressing, and definitely with no cheese. I dont think the Amazons eat cheese, which is maybe the biggest difference between me and Wonder Woman. If there were Raisinets, I would eat them.

Tuesday, June 13 Cereal. The baby is on my husbands lap, so I get to eat the whole bowl. Large iced tea.

Listen, I wake up early, and school pickup is at 11:15 today, so I have to eat a bagel with chicken salad at this ungodly hour, 10:45 a.m. I am hungry, and it is delicious.

We plan to have a picnic with some of my sons classmates in the park after school, so I bring a giant box of pink and green pretzel-shaped cookies from Caputos, one of the Italian bakeries in our neighborhood. Because its a hundred degrees outside, and the park has not an inch of shade, we scrap lunch pretty early and go into the fountain, which means that the kiddo and I eat most of the cookies ourselves. I also eat a lot of the grapes I brought for the picnic, because I am an adult.

Back at the bookstore, where I am not, Hetty McKinnon hand-delivers some beautiful salads from her new book, Neighborhood. My husband sends a photo, and I am jealous.

I suddenly find myself alone in the house and have a chips-and-salsa party. The party goes on too long, and then I have a giant stomachache.

I have to go back to the bookstore after bedtime, so I eat with the boys fusilli and pesto and more asparagus. The baby and I trade bowls repeatedly. The big kid and I share several open cans of LaCroix, because we are sophisticated.

We have a great event at the store tonight empress Elin Hilderbrand, resplendent in a pink dress that reminds me of Andies prom dress from Pretty in Pink, only much, much cuter, and Katherine Heiny, who is as hilarious as Maria Semple and is my new personal crush. Katherine is kind enough to let me babble at her with a glass of Champagne in my hand, and gently tells me that my children would not always be so young. She doesnt know about the food diary, but she might as well have said something like, Emma, someday you will again eat meals. Someday you will go to restaurants with your children, and they wont throw things and wave their arms like deranged baboons.

Afterward, my husband and I walk a few doors down, to Uncle Louie Gs, and get ice cream. Soft serve is really all it takes to make me happy. I am a woman of simple pleasures. Sugar, dairy, carbohydrates. Dont @ me, as I think people say. Maybe they dont say that anymore. As you now know, I dont have time to learn slang. Im too busy eating pizza.

Surprise: Its probably not the best idea in the world.

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Dying young never tasted so good.

Its our weekly ranking of the citys most important restaurants.

Its a strawberry huller that looks like a strawberry.

She was given a toilet in a storage closet that she had to clean herself.

Keepers Coffee Soda just might be the drink of the season.

Amigous Cerveza is selling out fast.

He also sees similarities with the Ringwraiths from The Lord of the Rings.

But you have to buy the $15 top-of-the-line sandwich.

There are lots of other exciting things to eat at DeKalb Market Hall.

From the hand refresher he keeps in multiples to the natural floss he hoards.

Locals are calling for a boycott.

Where to find 60 civil minutes of respite from spreadsheets, small talk, and market calls.

Chef Craig Koketsu first discovered it watching The Frugal Gourmet.

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Novelist Emma Straub Treats Doughnuts Like Appetizers - Grub Street

On average, women will start a new diet twice a year but it will only last four and half weeks

WOMEN go on 130 diets in a lifetime, a study has revealed.

They start one twice a year on average but it will last for just four weeks and three days.

Getty Images

The most popular diet is fat-free, which is used by 21 per cent, vegetarian was named by 15 per cent, and a carb-free plan followed with 13 per cent.

Other diet plans regularly embraced by our nations women include dairy free, juicing and even wheat free.

The study was completed by hospitality firm Fourth who surveyed 1,500 women.

Getty Images

When it comes to reasons why the diets are packed in, a third of the women said it was down to love of food.

Poor willpower was the second most popular answer and a further twenty per cent said they lack patience.

A tenth admitted to just being baffled by what is banned on a plan.

Of the total women asked, a massive thirty-one per cent admitted that chocolate was the single thing they missed the most and a Friday night take-away came in at second.

Getty Images

Getty Images

Five per cent say an active social life scuppers new food regimes.

But a similar number still dine out.

Director at Fourth, Catherine Marshall, said: Eating out and enjoying food and drinks with friends should not stop anybody from continuing a healthy eating plan.

Eating out and enjoying food and drinks with friends should not stop anybody from continuing a healthy eating plan.

Adults have a tendency to panic when in a restaurant and automatically assume nothing will cater for their latest health fix, but more often than not there will be options on the menu that are suitable for any diet or lifestyle choice.

Original post:
Women will try 130 diets in their lifetime, a new study has revealed - The Sun

Even when you plan to eat healthy, its easy to end up at a fast food place because its the only thing around and youre hungry, dammit. But does McDonalds have anything for a vegetarian to eat? Is there anything low carb at Starbucks? This cheat sheet can help.

For example, on a Mediterranean diet, you only have a few things to eat at McDonalds: a side salad, apple slices, or a Cutie (one of those tiny oranges). But Starbucks offers five items, including two delicious-looking salad bowls. Or say you dont eat meat: Wendys only has a few sides for you, but Taco Bell offers 14 different entre items stuffed with cheese, eggs, and beans.

The full analysis is here, sponsored by NetQuote. (They want you to come for the fast-food menus and stay for insurance quotes.) The chains they looked at are Chick-Fil-A, McDonalds, Starbucks, Taco Bell, and Wendys; the diets are vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian (vegetarian plus fish), Mediterranean, and low carb.

They define low carb as fewer than 16 grams of carbs, which may not be strict enough for all low-carb dieters (especially when were looking at Taco Bell, where 16 grams per taco is going to add up fast). So make sure to double-check labelsbut this is still a great starting point when youre stuck in a food court.

Read more:
Find Fast Food That Fits Your Diet With This Guide - Lifehacker Australia