Health & Fitness 0Updated at 8:58 am, August 12th, 2017 By: Lisa Drayer, CNN We Matched

(CNN) At 37 years old, Lisa Pessah-Bloom, a mother of three, was pre-diabetic, struggling with losing postpartum pounds and concerned about her health.

I had gestational diabetes for all three of my pregnancies. After my third, my A1C (blood sugar measurement) kept rising, and the doctor told me for the first time to be careful, because I was on track for diabetes.

Pessah-Bloom knew that she had to shed her pregnancy pounds and get her blood sugar under control. She did a Google search on diets for diabetes and stumbled upon the Paleo diet, which includes protein-rich foods like meat, fish, eggs and nuts, as well as vegetables and fruit, but excludes grains, dairy, legumes, sugars and salt. People said that their diabetes was reversed, she said.

She started eating more vegetables and unprocessed foods. But while following Paleo helped Pessah-Bloom eat a clean, lean diet, it wasnt enough to get her to her goal. She needed something else a support system of sorts and so she opened an account on Instagram under the handle @paleoworkingmama.

I started my Paleo page for motivation, really for myself, Pessah-Bloom said. But it wasnt long before she found people with health issues like herself who were also using the photo-driven app. I started following others who reversed Crohns and IBS too, which I also had, she said.

The more I followed people, the more I felt empowered. And then something unexpected happened. After some time, people who followed me told me that I me! empowered them. It was a chain of support, she said. I got it from others, and I gave it to others. People asked me to come to their house to perform refrigerator cleansing! They are inspired by the pictures I post of the food I make and what I keep in my kitchen, like my spices.Insta-community

The community support that Instagram provides may be its most valuable asset for those hoping to achieve their health goals.

The first picture I posted was a mason jar of water with lemons, Pessah-Bloom said. I had just learned about my high blood sugar, and I wrote, Making lemonade out of lemons. The post marked the start of Pessah-Blooms new diet and exercise journey, and in her post, she encouraged others to follow and support her.

One person posted my post on her page she had over 15,000 followers, and she said, Lets give @thepalemoworkingmama our support and then all of a sudden I had 100 followers. This was someone I didnt even know someone who has plenty of her own followers, but she really wanted me to succeed on my journey.

Theres also the benefit of being part of a more intimate community. With Instagram, you can have a separate part of your profile dedicated to food journaling, and you dont have to be worried that your family member or neighbor who just wants to see pictures of your dogs or vacations will be turned off, said Christina Chung, a doctoral student at the University of Washington and lead author of a study that analyzed women who consistently use Instagram to record and share what they eat, in order to learn about the benefits and challenges of using the platform to achieve ones health goals.

Instagram is just pictures. There are no posts about politics. Its easy to navigate, with no chaos or clutter, Pessah-Bloom added. If you follow someone, youre following them for a specific reason and often someone with a similar goal.

Pessah-Bloom also appreciates the convenience that Instagram provides. People are so busy, and sometimes you cant go in person to a Weight Watchers meeting. With Instagram, its in your face. Youre seeing it all the time. When I eat something bad and I see someone preparing something wonderful, I say, Why did I do that?! It keeps you inspired!

Food pictures that create cravings for tasty, healthy food help, too. When you see something so mouthwatering and appetizing, youre more likely to try it, and then you get hooked on eating well, Pessah-Bloom said.

Benefits of photo journaling

For those who use Instagram to track what they eat, the ease of snapping a picture is particularly helpful during a jam-packed day.

The benefit of photos is that its more fun to do than taking out a booklet or typing hundreds of words of description in an app, Chung said. Plus, its more socially appropriate for people who are trying to track their diets to snap a photo of their plate when theyre out with friends: Everyones doing it, and it doesnt look weird.

As one of the study participants noted, if I was out with friends or something, then a quick snapshot of the food would be easier than saying, Hold on, guys, I need to pull up MyFitnessPal and put everything down and the right serving size.

No fat grams on Instagram

But just how accurate is Instagram as a tracker for weight loss? Can you really know the portion sizes, fat grams and calorie counts of what you ate or should eat when you swipe through photos?

When it comes to losing weight, food pics may or may not help, said Angela Lemond, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The food could be great quality, but even an excessive amount of good food will cause weight gain.

If, for example, someone spots a picture of healthy chicken parmigiana as food inspiration for weight loss, it may be difficult to figure out the correct portion size, unless it is listed.

Its not very accurate if you are looking for tracking information such as detailed nutrients, portion size and calories, since it might be difficult to assess this information from photos, Chung said.

If youre looking for a 200-calorie meal, you might search using the hashtag #200calories and find some options. But in Chungs study, participants used the platform in conjunction with other apps if they were seeking more detailed nutrition data.

Calories aside, for those who use Instagram, the visual cues that the app provides actual pictures of food may be just enough motivation to continue eating on plan, or in some cases to eat less.

Before (when using MyFitnessPal), I would have a small snack pack that was a bag of chips and be like, Oh, that doesnt really count because its just a little tiny bag. But I think with Instagram, it helped me because I was taking a picture of it: Its real, and it exists, and it does count towards what I was eating. And then putting a visual image of it up really helped me stay honest, one study participant said.

Tensions between tracking honestly and posting something perceived as more desirable were also observed in the study. That could present a dilemma, leading some to spend time on making photos look better, explained Chung. But the thought of posting something off-plan may also help people stay on track, she added.Insta diet success

Over a year later, Pessah-Blooms cooking skills have improved, and she is no longer pre-diabetic. Her IBS is resolved, and she weighs less than she did at her wedding about 12 years ago. Her husband, a huge Instagram fan, has lost 40 pounds with the help of the app and his wifes cooking, and her kids eat healthier now, too.

Pessah-Bloom says she could not have done it without her online community that evolved from her photo journal.

I love the people I follow on Instagram. They have become my online support group. Everyone inspires each other. I work full-time and have three kids. I couldnt have done any of this without Instagram.

CNN Wire and the CNN Video Affiliate Network is an online syndication service providing text and video versions of CNN's award-winning news coverage. Articles featured include reporting on world news, politics, finance, health, entertainment and technology.

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How the 'Instagram diet' works - East Idaho News

Pet owners have many choices when buying dog and cat food. Some are basic foods providing an economical choice that is nutritionally complete; others are premium or super-premium foods. This trend will continue as owners seek the best nutrition available for their pets.

Pet nutrition has come a long way. As a veterinarian, I see significantly fewer problems with urinary tract stones than when I first started in practice. Dry, flaky skin that was common years ago is less so now.

There also are therapeutic diets that require veterinary supervision. My second Bernese mountain dog, Vern, had abnormal kidney values that I noticed when he was neutered. The problem increased over the next few months, and I thought we were going to lose him. After a medical work-up that including a kidney biopsy, he was diagnosed with renal dysplasia.

We gave him medication that controlled his high blood pressure and started a special kidney diet with low total protein and a high-quality protein component. He lived longer than average for a Bernese mountain dog.

Special veterinary diets are also used for pets predisposed to bladder stones. These foods are formulated to help prevent and even dissolve some types of stones.

My cat Daisy vomited all the time. Her weight and blood chemistry were normal, but clearly something was wrong. After consultation with a feline specialist, we tried a high protein/low carbohydrate diet designed for diabetic pets. It worked like a charm, and she lived a long happy life.

Diarrhea is a common complaint in pets, but it will usually self-correct in a few days. We always check a stool sample in these patients and sometimes treat for parasites. Often a special diet is prescribed for the short, or even long, term.

Chronic loose stool also can be a big problem. Before an involved medical work-up with endoscopy and biopsy, we try a therapeutic high-fiber diet. Diets that are very low in fat may be used for pets that are prone to pancreatitis.

A pet with a food allergy may benefit with a super purified, limited antigen diet. Changing the protein fraction may help control itching and intestinal distress. Older dogs or dogs that have seizures may benefit from new diets that are designed for improving brain health.

My current dog, Millie, began limping as she aged, so I started her on a new diet designed for joint health. It has worked so well that I have yet to give her any medication for pain.

High-calorie pudding-type diets can help pets that have a feeding tube or need supplemental feeding while recovering from illness. Weight loss foods are used for pets at unhealthy excessive weights. Used incorrectly, these diets can be problematic, but with veterinary supervision, they can be lifesavers.

While commercial food is appropriate for the majority of pets, therapeutic diets can be a tremendous benefit for those who have specific needs.

Lawrence Gerson is a veterinarian and founder of the Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic. His biweekly column is intended to educate. Consultation with a veterinarian is necessary to diagnose and treat individual pets. If you have a question youd like addressed in Pet Points, email petpoints@post-gazette.com. Please include your name and municipality or neighborhood.

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Pet Points: Therapeutic diets can be lifesavers for pets - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The former 'Project Runway' contestant embarks on an extended juice cleanse. However, experts say these detoxes aren't healthy and aren't necessary.

Juice cleanses, detoxes, and fasting are just some of the health trends promoted by celebrities.

Santino Rice may have just taken things to the next level.

The former Project Runway contestant announced on Twitter that he intends to embark on a 111-day juice fast.

My fast involves drinking as much organic cold-pressed juice and water as I need, Rice tweeted.

An extended juice fast will reverse heart disease, diabetes, and various autoimmune diseases, he wrote.

But nutrition experts say Rices planned diet could be potentially dangerous.

Detoxification diets are very popular especially with celebrities like Rice, and even Beyonc. Detox diets claim to help the body to release toxins and excess weight, Lauri Wright, PhD, assistant professor in the department of community and family health at the University of South Florida, College of Public Health, told Healthline.

So do detox diets work and are they safe?

Bottom line: These diets have no scientific foundation and can be harmful, she said.

Fruit and vegetable juices can contribute to a healthful diet overall. However, juice alone does not provide all the essential nutrients needed for health. Juice contains no protein and is also lacking important vitamins and minerals such as iron and calcium. Because of this, juice cleanses are not healthy, Wright added.

Despite the popularity of detoxification diets, they arent really necessary.

The body naturally cleanses toxins through the liver and kidneys.

Fasting doesnt achieve this and, in fact, can cause more harm than good, experts say.

Rice claims three days of just water will allow your body to heal.

But Dana Hunnes, PhD, a senior dietitian at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, argues Rice does not really know what he speaks of.

Three days of just water can lead to protein catabolism (muscle loss), potentially ketosis for some individuals, which is when we start using fat and muscle for energy in the brain, and could also lead to some potential electrolyte imbalances, Hunnes told Healthline. The only circumstance where this could be an OK idea, is if you are about to undergo a gastrointestinal surgery, and you have been expressly guided by your physician to take in nothing but certain liquids for three days.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, there isnt any convincing evidence that detox or cleansing programs actually remove toxins from your body or improve your health.

In addition, any weight loss achieved on a detox diet may just be due to having a low-calorie diet.

Despite popular belief that detox diets can reset the body, Wright argued that cleanses or detox diets can actually have negative health consequences.

Detox diets that severely limit protein or that require fasting can result in fatigue. Long-term fasting can result in vitamin and mineral deficiencies. Colon cleansing, which is often recommended as part of a detox plan, can cause cramping, bloating, nausea, and vomiting, she said. Dehydration also can be a concern. For diabetics, fasting while taking diabetic medication can cause their blood sugar to drop dangerously low.

These types of diets [cleanses and detoxes] aren't a good long-term solution. For lasting results, your best bet is to eat a healthy diet based on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean sources of protein, she added.

So why do so many people, like Santino Rice, say they feel an improvement after a detox diet?

According to the Mayo Clinic, it may in part be due to eliminating highly processed foods that have solid fats and added sugars.

If you do want to embark on a detox diet, Hunnes said the healthiest way to do so is to eliminate all processed foods, eliminate all salt and added sugars, and eat whole plant-based foods.

As for taking health advice from Santino Rice and other celebrities, both Hunnes and Wright advised against it.

I think it is very dangerous for a public figure to be so blas about such a potentially dangerous topic, Hunnes said.

It is an abuse of status when celebrities promote diets and foods that are not evidence-based and can do harm, Wright added.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Quick fixes and villain foods dont work, Wright added. Health comes from lifestyle choices whole foods, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins combined with physical activity. For an evidenced-based, individualized plan for a healthy lifestyle, consult a registered dietitian.

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Is Santino Rice's 111-Day Juice Fast Healthy? - Healthline

Theres no escaping the cruel, foremost rule of weight loss: You must eat less, or move more.

This archaic, unforgiving reality is shaped by the laws of thermodynamics themselves, and in an age where food is plentiful, along with lifestyles that require far less activity, this rule has become the bane of dieters everywhere in the current generation.

At least, it was, until it somehow became trendy to effectively starve yourself.

To be fair, thats a bit of a hyperbole when it comes to fasting for weight loss, the most popular methods of which include intermittent fasting or alternate day fasting (where periods of low/no food intake are followed by periods of the dieter proceeding to gorge themselves), but it should already be somewhat obvious that such an approach has some prominent, potentially devastating pitfalls.

In the simplest of terms, and from the perspective of the exceedingly popular intermittent fasting schedule, these diets consist of a minimum of sixteen hours of fasting followed by a sort of feasting phase. Simple, yet effective for weight loss, but is this due to any sort of magic? No, the simple fact of the matter is that it is much easier to eat over three thousand calories during the course of an entire day (and night, for those with the dreaded habit of sleep-snacking!) than it is to consume even two thousand calories during a period of four hours.

First, to get my bias out of the way, along with some of my background, I am looking at this from the perspective of someone whos spent a lot of time spent researching both nutrition and clinical psychology. I have followed such approaches myself during the height of their resurgence, spending a full two years on an intermittent fasting style diet with two meals consumed in a four-hour window, so I have a fair amount of experience to go along with the information that I have gathered on the subject, and the summation of my experiences has led me to one single conclusion: This type of diet is an effective tool for some, but potentially disastrous for others, and highly unsustainable for most.

Those are strong words, indeed, but the promoters of such diets typically make some extremely radical claims. From the seemingly obvious conclusion of dramatic weight loss, to some who would even go so far as to claim that such a lifestyle can cure or prevent chronic illnesses such as cancer or diabetes, its important to point out the other side, which poses some very real dangers.

The first risk that needs addressing is that this type of diet, which is haphazardly recommended to just about anybody nowadays as if it were some sort of holy grail or fountain of youth, is that those with predisposition toward unhealthy eating patterns or mental illnesses should steer clear of such drastic approaches in general. Throughout my experiences working with those who have struggled with eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, following such a diet can quickly turn into a scapegoat, just one of many excuses to cover up a relapse, or the replacement of one disordered eating pattern with another.

The other real risk here affects even those with no predisposition or history for either mental illness, or disordered eating patterns (though it could certainly be argued that willing to embark on such a drastic change in diet can be considered being predisposed to disordered eating patterns) and that is the risk of the dieter falling off the wagon, so to speak.

Simply put, eating massive amounts of food in a single sitting while completely abstaining at all other points throughout the day is not socially acceptable, and I would argue that such a practice should never become acceptable, as it would essentially be normalizing a very precarious binging and purging cycle that has already taken the lives and happiness of so many across the globe.

Social norms and stigmas aside, it goes against human nature itself to force back hunger pangs all day when food is so plentiful, and there is no real reason why the pendulum needs to swing so far from eating too much, too far too little. It takes a hefty amount of willpower to follow such a schedule, and those who are able to fast for specific purposes such as religious activities are highly deserving of our respect for this reason among many others, but to expect this cycle of self-sacrifice to be sustainable for the average dieter is unrealistic.

Whats worse is the fact that, while such a diet may indeed prove to be extremely effective for the period of time that it is used, it teaches the dieter absolutely nothing about making nutritious food choices supportive of their desired healthy lifestyle, and it teaches them nothing about the most essential aspect of long-term weight maintenanceportion control.

Does fasting have its benefits? Certainly. There is some preliminary evidence that shows periods of fasting to be highly beneficial for our bodies by mimicking the longevity benefits seen with research on caloric restriction over the long term, along with the fact that so many of those who fast find the experience itself to be both spiritual and energizing in nature.

Those benefits aside, however, the risks and sacrifice necessary to make what was meant to be a short-term experience into a full-blown lifestyle far outweigh the rewards, which can be achieved through a simple, healthy diet composed of whole, unprocessed foods.

In summation, the fasting craze is not entirely undeserving of its spot in prime-time television and magazines, but in the end, its just thatthe latest craze where whats old is suddenly new again.

In a world full of people looking for quick fixes, these drastic approaches have a tendency to seem like the holy grail, but the unfortunate truth of the matter is that when it comes to true health and wellness, both physically and mentally over the long term, there are no quick fixes.

Fast if you wish, but keep this as food for thought. Youll need it when the magic finally vanishes.

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Does Fasting Work? - Study Breaks

NEW YORK (CNN) At 37 years old, Lisa Pessah-Bloom, a mother of three, was pre-diabetic, struggling with losing postpartum pounds and concerned about her health.

"I had gestational diabetes for all three of my pregnancies. After my third, my A1C (blood sugar measurement) kept rising, and the doctor told me for the first time to be careful, because I was on track for diabetes."

Pessah-Bloom knew that she had to shed her pregnancy pounds and get her blood sugar under control. She did a Google search on diets for diabetes and stumbled upon the Paleo diet, which includes protein-rich foods like meat, fish, eggs and nuts, as well as vegetables and fruit, but excludes grains, dairy, legumes, sugars and salt. "People said that their diabetes was reversed," she said.

She started eating more vegetables and unprocessed foods. But while following Paleo helped Pessah-Bloom eat a clean, lean diet, it wasn't enough to get her to her goal. She needed something else a support system of sorts and so she opened an account on Instagram under the handle @paleoworkingmama.

"I started my Paleo page for motivation, really for myself," Pessah-Bloom said. But it wasn't long before she found people with health issues like herself who were also using the photo-driven app. "I started following others who reversed Crohn's and IBS too, which I also had," she said.

"The more I followed people, the more I felt empowered. And then something unexpected happened. After some time, people who followed me told me that I me! empowered them. It was a chain of support," she said. "I got it from others, and I gave it to others. People asked me to come to their house to perform refrigerator cleansing! They are inspired by the pictures I post of the food I make and what I keep in my kitchen, like my spices."

The community support that Instagram provides may be its most valuable asset for those hoping to achieve their health goals.

"The first picture I posted was a mason jar of water with lemons," Pessah-Bloom said. "I had just learned about my high blood sugar, and I wrote, 'Making lemonade out of lemons.' " The post marked the start of Pessah-Bloom's new diet and exercise journey, and in her post, she encouraged others to follow and support her.

"One person posted my post on her page she had over 15,000 followers, and she said, 'Let's give @thepalemoworkingmama our support' and then all of a sudden I had 100 followers. This was someone I didn't even know ... someone who has plenty of her own followers, but she really wanted me to succeed on my journey."

There's also the benefit of being part of a more intimate community. "With Instagram, you can have a separate part of your profile dedicated to food journaling, and you don't have to be worried that your family member or neighbor who just wants to see pictures of your dogs or vacations will be turned off," said Christina Chung, a doctoral student at the University of Washington and lead author of a study that analyzed women who consistently use Instagram to record and share what they eat, in order to learn about the benefits and challenges of using the platform to achieve one's health goals.

"Instagram is just pictures. There are no posts about politics. It's easy to navigate, with no chaos or clutter," Pessah-Bloom added. "If you follow someone, you're following them for a specific reason ... and often someone with a similar goal."

Pessah-Bloom also appreciates the convenience that Instagram provides. "People are so busy, and sometimes you can't go in person to a Weight Watchers meeting. With Instagram, it's in your face. You're seeing it all the time. When I eat something bad ... and I see someone preparing something wonderful, I say, 'Why did I do that?!' It keeps you inspired!"

Food pictures that create cravings for tasty, healthy food help, too. "When you see something so mouthwatering and appetizing, you're more likely to try it, and then you get hooked on eating well," Pessah-Bloom said.

#Paleo almond crusted fudge squares for my beloved who turned 40 today . His dessert request was chocolaty and decadent. I also needed to wallow in some sweets as my two oldest left for sleep-away camp today . Anyhooo...What if I told you this took about 15 minutes to make? And that this is vegan, dairy free, gluten free, refined sugar free, no bake, no blender and only SEVEN ingredients? Oh, and delicious. In a small bowl add: 1 cup blanched almond flour, 3 tbsp melted coconut oil, 2-3 droplets of organic stevia and 1 tsp vanilla extract (*if this is not "sticking" add some organic maple syrup). Mix together with spoon until mixture begins to stick together. Take loaf pan and with your fingers, spread evenly. This is your "pie crust". Next, in a bowl add: 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, 1/2 cup crushed almond pieces, 3 tbsp maple syrup and 2 tbsp melted coconut oil. Mix together and add on top of pie crust in loaf pan. Finally, in another bowl add: 1/2 cup of organic cacao powder, 1/4 cup melted coconut oil and 1-2 tsp stevia. Mix together to form chocolate sauce. Pour over crust/coconut. Place loaf pan in freezer for about 1/2 hr and serve . Leave uneaten squares in freezer, as it will melt if it's left out (much better when it melts in your mouth ) #dessert #chocolate #birthdaycake #vegan #glutenfree #dairyfree #soyfree #refinedsugarfree #treats #sweets #eatclean #cleaneating #foodporn #paleoporn #foodie #organic #recipe #feedfeed #nobake #easy #healthy #coconut #birthdayboy

A post shared by Lisa (@paleoworkingmama) on Jun 27, 2017 at 7:02pm PDT

For those who use Instagram to track what they eat, the ease of snapping a picture is particularly helpful during a jam-packed day.

"The benefit of photos is that it's more fun to do than taking out a booklet or typing hundreds of words of description in an app," Chung said. "Plus, it's more socially appropriate for people who are trying to track their diets to snap a photo of their plate when they're out with friends: Everyone's doing it, and it doesn't look weird."

As one of the study participants noted, "if I was out with friends or something, then a quick snapshot of the food would be easier than saying, 'Hold on, guys, I need to pull up MyFitnessPal and put everything down and the right serving size.' "

But just how accurate is Instagram as a tracker for weight loss? Can you really know the portion sizes, fat grams and calorie counts of what you ate or should eat when you swipe through photos?

"When it comes to losing weight, food pics may or may not help," said Angela Lemond, a registered dietitian nutritionist and spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. "The food could be great quality, but even an excessive amount of 'good' food will cause weight gain."

If, for example, someone spots a picture of healthy chicken parmigiana as food inspiration for weight loss, it may be difficult to figure out the correct portion size, unless it is listed.

"It's not very accurate if you are looking for tracking information such as detailed nutrients, portion size and calories, since it might be difficult to assess this information from photos," Chung said.

If you're looking for a 200-calorie meal, you might search using the hashtag #200calories and find some options. But in Chung's study, participants used the platform in conjunction with other apps if they were seeking more detailed nutrition data.

Calories aside, for those who use Instagram, the visual cues that the app provides actual pictures of food may be just enough motivation to continue eating on plan, or in some cases to eat less.

"Before (when using MyFitnessPal), I would have a small snack pack that was a bag of chips and be like, 'Oh, that doesn't really count because it's just a little tiny bag.' But I think with Instagram, it helped me because I was taking a picture of it: It's real, and it exists, and it does count towards what I was eating. And then putting a visual image of it up really helped me stay honest," one study participant said.

Tensions between tracking honestly and posting something perceived as more desirable were also observed in the study. That could present a dilemma, leading some to spend time on making photos look better, explained Chung. But the thought of posting something "off-plan" may also help people stay on track, she added.

Over a year later, Pessah-Bloom's cooking skills have improved, and she is no longer pre-diabetic. Her IBS is resolved, and she weighs less than she did at her wedding about 12 years ago. Her husband, a huge Instagram fan, has lost 40 pounds with the help of the app and his wife's cooking, and her kids eat healthier now, too.

Pessah-Bloom says she could not have done it without her online community that evolved from her photo journal.

"I love the people I follow on Instagram. ... They have become my online 'support' group. Everyone inspires each other. I work full-time and have three kids. I couldn't have done any of this without Instagram."

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How the 'Instagram diet' works - KSL.com

CROWN POINT David Corrie had a good reason for wanting to lose weight.

His 3-year-old son, Luke, requires near constant attention and likely will for the rest of his life. Corrie's family needs him around, and healthy.

He had an epiphany one day watching a friend care for an older son with autism.

"I said there's no way I can do this 10 years from now in my current health," said Corrie, 38, a fifth-grade teacher in Lansing. "At some point, Luke is going to have the strength of a man but still have the mentality of a child."

Corrie's son has isodicentric 15, or idic 15, a rare chromosomal abnormality that leaves him unable to talk, with seizures and low muscle tone.

To prevent the seizures, the 3-year-old has to eat a diet high in fat and low in carbs and protein. Corrie always tries whatever supplements his son is prescribed to make sure they don't have adverse side effects. He decided to do the same thing with Luke's diet.

The more he researched it, he learned it might be able to help him as well.

Under the so-called ketogenic diet, he eats two calories of fat for every one from carbs or protein, consuming no more than 30 grams of carbs a day. He said the diet essentially "fools the body into thinking you're starving," encouraging fat burning.

"I eat a lot of eggs and meat and sausage and low-carb vegetables, bacon, cheese, cashews, avocados," he said.

He said the diet makes him feel full, cutting down on snacking.

"I've been hungry my whole life," he said. "People always say if you eat now you're going to spoil your appetite for dinner. That was not the case for me."

Starting at 311 pounds, Corrie is now down to around 255. He hopes to eventually get to 220.

Besides the changes on the scale, Corrie says he is less grumpy and has lowered his high blood sugar and liver enzyme levels. And he has already noticed the difference in his ability to care for his son.

"I can get to him faster," he said. "My endurance level to carry him around is greater."

He has done some cardio and strength training along the way, but figures the diet is about 80 percent responsible for his weight loss.

"It's improved my health massively," he said.

Corrie has been soliciting sponsors for his weight-loss journey, already raising more than $14,000 that will go toward home modifications for his son. Corrie and his wife hope to build a "Luke-proof room," an addition off the kitchen where he can safely play while his parents watch him through the glass. A contractor, E&K of Chicago, has agreed to donate construction and materials to make the addition a reality.

Corrie's wife, Angela, has been impressed by the improvements her husband has made in his life.

"It's a big change," she said. "He has been diligent to stay on it in a way I couldn't. The weight just melts off him."

"We're really involved with our church. We go to a lot of potlucks, and he's been really good," she added. "We need him around for lots of years."

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A Crown Point man lost 50 pounds...for his son - nwitimes.com

Two entities that seem like they should be on the same page a coalition of environmental groups and a plant-based food company are at odds.

And the flash point is a veggie burger.

Impossible Foods is facing scrutiny about the safety of a key ingredient in its trademark Impossible Burger, commonly known as the veggie burger that bleeds.

The controversy arose when theNew York Timespublished an article highlightingcorrespondencebetween the FDA and Impossible Foods that environmental groups say indicates that the protein had not met the agencys approval before going to market about a year ago.

Currently our FDA, EPA and USDA regulations are falling behind the very quickly moving development of new technologies, and one of the ways that our regulatory agencies are falling behind is they are not assessing the process of genetically engineering these ingredients, said Dana Perls of Friends of the Earth, one of the groups that raised concerns about Impossible Foods safety testing.

[Read the GLPs profile on Friends of the Earth.]

[The companys CEO and founder, Patrick Brown] said the groups objections are more about the use of biotechnology than the product itself.

The vast majority of their effort is an antiscience, anti-GMO crusade, Brown said. Their strategy has tended to be to try to effectively take down any company that is using biotechnology by whatever means they can come up with.

[Editors note: Below is a letter by Impossible Burger CEO and founder Patrick Brown, republished in full with permission from the company.]

The New York Times published an Aug. 8 article falsely implying that Impossible Foods is trying to evade US Food and Drug Administration regulations and putting consumers at risk by selling a product (the Impossible Burger) containing soy leghemoglobin. The article was chock full of factual errors and misrepresentations and was instigated by an extremist anti-science group with the deliberate intention of damaging our reputation.

Heres the truth:

The greatest threat the world faces today is the enormously destructive impact that our use of animals as a food technology has on climate, water, wildlife and biodiversity, global food security and political stability. Although little known to the public and almost completely ignored by the news media, this threat is well recognized by environmental and climate scientists and organizations including the UN Environmental Program, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, among many others. The problem is not going to be solved by asking that people give up, or even reduce, consumption of the animal-derived foods they love; the demand for meat, fish and dairy foods is growing even faster than the human population. Nothing is more important to the planet our children and future generations will inherit, or their quality of life, than finding a solution to this dilemma.

Thats why I founded Impossible Foods. Our singular mission is to enable the world to continue to enjoy the foods they love and increasingly demand, without catastrophic damage to the environment. Our strategy was simple: invent a better way to transform plants into delicious, nutritious, safe and affordable meat, fish and dairy foods that consumers love. Then let consumers choose. If we do our job right, the market will take care of the rest. Commitment to the health, nutrition and safety of our customers is an inseparable part of our mission; its at the heart of why we exist, embedded in our ethos and everything we do.

With support from investors who understand and believe in our mission, we built a team of scientists who have worked tirelessly on this problem, understanding meat what underlies its flavor, texture and all its physical properties far better than it was ever understood. One of many discoveries they made, perhaps the most important, is that a molecule called heme is what makes meat taste like meat. Without heme, you cant make meat that will satisfy the billions of people who love meat.

Heme is an iron-containing molecule thats essential for life on Earth. Its found in every living organism. Its the magic molecule that enables the cells in our bodies and in every living being on Earth to benefit from the oxygen in our atmosphere. Its the molecule that carries oxygen in our blood, makes our blood red and our lips pink. Because its in every plant and animal, humans have been eating heme every day since the first human walked on Earth. The reason that animal tissues (meat) tastes like meat and unlike any vegetable, is that animal tissues contain hundreds to thousands-fold more heme than plant tissues.

To accomplish our essential mission, we needed to find a safe way to produce heme without using animals. We used yeast cells, into which we introduced a plant gene encoding a protein called soy leghemoglobin thats naturally found in the roots of soy plants. The heme in the Impossible Burger is atom-for-atom identical to the heme found in meat, fish, plants and other foods. Soy leghemoglobin carries the heme molecule in the same way a very similar protein, myoglobin, carries heme in muscle tissue (meat). Myoglobin is just one of the thousands of different heme proteins we all consume safely in our diets every day.

The health and safety of our customers is our first priority. The foods in our diet and the molecules and ingredients they contain are by default presumed to be safe, but only a minuscule fraction have ever been scientifically tested for their safety. Although there was never a reason to suspect that soy leghemoglobin would pose any more risk than myoglobin, or any of the new proteins we encounter in our diet all the time, we started four years ago to do a deep scientific study of its safety, including any potential for toxicity or allergenicity. The data we collected and our analyses were documented and reviewed by three independent food-safety experts in toxicology, allergenicity and yeast. In 2014, this expert panel unanimously concluded based on all the evidence that the protein is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for human consumption. This is the approach followed by thousands of food companies to meet the FDA requirement that foods be generally recognized as safe. But we did more.

There is no legal or regulatory requirement that a companys finding of GRAS be submitted to the FDA for review. And its frequently not done. In fact, a total of only 709 have been submitted since the GRAS Notification system was put in place almost 20 years ago in 1998. But we did it because we recognize and respect the value of the FDA as guardian of the safety of the American food supply, one of the safest in the world.

We wanted the FDA to review our GRAS determination, to have the added benefit of their expertise, and to assure consumers that our testing of leghemoglobin has passed the most rigorous scrutiny. After submitting our GRAS determination, the FDA reviewed it, and had some questions. To address them, we conducted additional tests. And the tests turned out just as we expected: no adverse effects in rats consuming leghemoglobin every day for a month at levels more than 200 times what an average American would consume if all the ground beef in their diet were the Impossible Burger, and very low risk of allergenicity. A panel of the worlds leading experts in food safety and allergenicity has reviewed the new data, as well as the data originally submitted.

The expert panel has again unanimously concluded that soy leghemoglobin is safe; it is GRAS.

Impossible Foods has always worked constructively with the FDA, whose role as guardian of food safety for the nation we deeply respect. We will be submitting the additional data, along with the expert panels analysis of it, to the FDA this month. And FDA will make Impossible Foodss submission hundreds of pages of safety and allergenicity test results and the expert analysis of those results publicly available on its web site soon thereafter. In addition, in an abundance of caution, we clearly label our product as containing potential allergens: wheat and soy also in compliance with federal regulations. Finally, restaurants where the Impossible Burger is sold also comply with federal regulations about labeling.

Impossible Foods is proud of the safety of its first product, the Impossible Burger, and is committed to the health and safety of our customers. Thats why weve gone far beyond merely complying with food safety regulations, and we always will. I am confident in saying that the Impossible Burger is the safest and most thoroughly safety-tested burger in history. In striking contrast, the alternative, animal-derived burger is one of the least safe and most inadequately tested foods on the market.

And were committed to solving the most urgent threat the world faces today: the use of animals in the food system. Since the small-scale launch of the Impossible Burger, with just 50,000 lbs sold to date (10 billion lbs of ground beef were sold in the same time period), and working with our great restaurant partners, the Impossible Burger has already had an outsized impact: weve had an overwhelmingly positive response from consumers, and weve reduced greenhouse gases emissions by the equivalent of removing 246 American cars from the road for a year, reduced the land footprint of meat production by an area half the size of New Yorks Central Park, saved as much fresh water as 50,000 average Americans drink in a year, and saved more than 100 cows from slaughter. We cant solve this problem unless people love our burger.

Impossible Foods intends to be the most open and transparent company in the world. We welcome every opportunity to answer questions from the public and media, and share our answers on our social media channels. Before deciding how you feel about Impossible Foods or the Impossible Burger, read our story and then decide for yourself.

Continue reading here:
Impossible Burger blowback: Will irrational fears of biotechnology block introduction of sustainable foods? - Genetic Literacy Project

Unsafe parkway

Re Violent crimes rise on American River Parkway. He took issue with me just being there, cyclist says (sacbee.com, Aug. 10): The American River Parkway is completely out of control, and Supervisor Phil Serna is the only elected official who has shown leadership on this issue. It is obvious what needs to be done. A complete sweep by law enforcement and related agencies. No one can use this public area safely. Mentally ill people need to be treated. Sex offenders and parolees have no right whatsoever to use this public land as a campground. No more of this feel good activity having volunteers clean up after people who think they have a right to wreck public land.

Andrew Mattson, Roseville

Re Sacramento to sell convention center name. Gun and tobacco companies need not apply (sacbee.com, Aug. 7): Instead of boring street names like J Street or 43rd Avenue, corporations would probably pay big bucks to sponsor new street names. Drivers could come into town on Chevron Street. Corporate sponsors, no doubt, would be motivated to keep their street in good repair. Why not sell the naming rights to Sacramento. Renaming Sacramento, say, Amazon, might bring in enough money to take care of that pesky homeless problem. On second thought, the state would probably sell its naming rights to Amazon to provide funds for those tunnels and the high-speed rail. No matter.

Re A single speeding ticket shouldnt be a ticket to bankruptcy (Editorials, Aug. 7): I'm so tried of trying to dumb down the rules to accommodate people who do not wish to obey the laws. Has anyone considered telling people who can't afford a ticket that they should obey the speed limit or not let their meter time expire. If we think driving habits are awful now, they will get worse when there is no real penalty. It would be informative to see how many people who can't pay their fines are one-time offenders or multiple time bad players. Penalties should not be on a sliding scale.

Sheila Sanders, Sacramento

How low will California go before the fine no longer is a deterrent to violating traffic laws. It seems that California is willing to tax what it considers bad behavior such as smoking, but considers fines on dangerous activities that endanger the lives of other people to be too much of a burden on low income people. Obey traffic laws, and you will never have to pay a fine.

Albert Kammerer, Sacramento

We are put at risk by other peoples poor behavior and by legislators feel good social engineering experiments. As a police officer with a local agency, I can tell you that Senate Bill 185 will cost us all money, make the streets less safe and will do nothing to curb reckless driving. You do not loose your license for having tinted windows. You loose it after numerous moving violations, refusing to appear in court as promised or failure to make minimal monthly payments after a conviction. Moving violations are primary collision factors. A large percent of hit & run accidents are committed by persons with suspended licenses or none at all. If a person cannot be responsible to drive safely why must we enable them by reducing the penalties?

Sean Saylor, West Sacramento

As a former county probation officer, I received many referrals for pre-sentence reports to be written for people with little to no prior records, but who were now facing lengthy jail sentences for failing to pay their speeding tickets. How does this happen? First, they don't think the criminal justice is serious about having the offender pay the fine. The offender ignores paying it, and ignores the summons for failing to appear in court. This turns into a contempt of court, with another fine commensurate with the offense. By then, the amount owed has grown beyond most individual's ability to pay. If the offender still fails to take care of the ticket, a warrant will have been issued for the speeder's arrest. It is time that the Legislature looks at more reasonable ways of dealing with people who don't have the money to pay the initial fines. License suspension should be for only the most egregious situations. Taking away someone's lifeline to work is self-defeating. How are they going to work all this out from a jail cell?

Sharon Ileen Phippen, Orland

Re Litter (Letters, Aug. 5): I do not believe it is the Department of Transportations job to clean up litter. I do not believe it should be in their job description, unless it is a major problem like after an accident. How about people stop littering? Maybe it should be in the parents job description to teach their children better when they are little and also they need to stop doing it themselves.

I agree with letter writer Gloria Rolak regarding the amount of debris on the freeways. The median divide coming from Marysville is filled with trash for miles. The amount of trash is appalling on the the 39th Street exit from Highway 50. I've picked up trash along the American River as a volunteer and would be willing to do the same if the Department of Transportation doesn't take care of it soon.

Re US scientists contradict Trump's climate claims (sacbee.com, Aug. 8): Did we really need another report to warn us of the dangers of climate change? As Al Gore has stated repeatedly, watching the television news is like taking a nature walk through the Book of Revelations. Sacramento broke a historic record for most consecutive days over 90 degrees. The governor of North Dakota requested a federal emergency declaration because of drought. We once again witnessed destructive flooding in New Orleans, while Seattle is struggling with air pollution from raging Canadian fires. The Northwest is coping with an unprecedented heat wave. Every month Mother Nature sends us a new batch of extreme weather event warnings. To quote the old song: When will we ever learn, when will we ever learn?

Re: Tom McClintock (Letters, Aug. 5): Letter writer Jeffrey Freeberg claims that the voters of Congressional District 4 should be proud of Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, because of his adherence to policy over party politics. McClintock consistently votes the Republican Party line, including his recent vote for the Republican health care proposal, his vote to allocate $1.6 billion in tax revenue toward a fantasy border wall, and his countless votes to remove protections against dumping pollutants into our air, streams, and rivers. McClintock's legislative accomplishments have been naming two post offices and a mountain.

A recent letter writer wants voters to be proud of Rep. Tom McClintocks policies, but almost all of his votes are not in his constituents best interests. McClintock, R-Elk Grove, votes against for federal funds that would benefit his district through road and infrastructure improvements, and associated job creation. He has voted to take Medicaid away from over people in his district, hurting his own voters in rural areas. However, the congressman does excel at naming post offices, if thats all you expect from your elected officials.

Global warming is not about whether you are liberal or conservative or what you see as the role of government as being. It's not about whether you prefer to live simply or luxuriously. Global warming isnt even about whether you like or dislike Al Gore. The issue of global warming is about the answer to the question: What is the evidence for what is happening to the planet? People believe its about other things because, as author Will Durant said, we think with our hopes and fears and wishes instead of with our minds.

Re How your pet is contributing to global warming (sacbee.com, Aug. 2): Its not surprising that our 163 million U.S. companion animals leave a significant carbon footprint. However, the main contributor to global warming is human over-population. Dogs are considered omnivores, meaning they can do well on a vegetable-based diet, but they are also individuals so some dogs may do better on a strictly vegetarian diet than others. Cats are obligate carnivores. Please consult your veterinarian when thinking about diet changes for a pet.

Maybe traffic fines a bit too high. However, they are designed to change driving habits. If you speed, the chances are good that you might cause a serious accident. If you obey the rules, you will not have to worry about how large traffic tickets are. Actions equal consequences.

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Phil Serna shows leadership on American River Parkway. Other politicians do not. - Sacramento Bee

The last time Percy Pika saw his father, the smell was suffocating.

The prison had no air conditioning, no defense against the African heat. The cells had no toilets or water, but they did have dozens of men living and dying in each, sleeping on cardboard or on mats no thicker than a sponge.

The prison in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, was built during World War II to house maybe 150 men. Last year, according to reports, it held more than 800 many of them said to be political prisoners of President Denis Sassou Nguesso.

But only one of them is a U.S. citizen, a former Nebraskan, a father and grandfather who worked the lines at Cook's Family Foods and Kawasaki in Lincoln, raising his big family on Y Street before returning to his homeland to become a farmer.

For nearly 500 days, 70-year-old Marcel Pika has been held in Brazzaville's central prison, plucked from his house by armed men in late March 2016, just after Sassou Nguesso's 2016 re-election.

His family is outraged by his detention and worried about his health; they say he has developed high blood pressure and cysts on his kidneys and lungs, and the prison provides little nourishment or medical care.

But theyve been equally angry with the lack of tangible action by their own government in Washington to work for their father's release.

We are Nebraskans today, and were proud to be Nebraskans, Percy Pika said. We want the U.S. government to act on behalf of our father. Whatever actions that need to be taken need to be taken.

* * *

Marcel Pika was born in a farm village in the Congo, the first of his generation to attend college, and spent his career as an Army officer, retiring as a colonel.

In 1997, when Sassou Nguesso returned to office during a violent civil war with help from the militia he called the Cobras Marcel Pika and his family and others fled to the West African country of Benin.

They weren't safe there, either, Percy Pika said: There were reports Sassou Nguesso was targeting refugees who had been loyal to his opposition, returning them to his country to kill them.

The United Nations was willing to help, and it gave the officer's family a choice: Canada or the U.S.

The decision was simple. Marcel Pika had a daughter in Lincoln whose husband was studying biology at the University of Nebraska.

He and his wife and their seven other children arrived in September 1999, helped in their resettlement by Catholic Social Services. They spoke little English, and this was a strange new world for them, but here they were safe, and here they were starting over.

That first day, they all gathered in the house that had been rented for them near 29th and Vine.

We just started looking out the windows. We started laughing, Percy Pika said. We held hands that day. We prayed, thanking God for the opportunities.

Marcel Pika and his wife, Josephine, wasted little time finding work. In the Congo, the army officer and his family had servants and drivers, but now he was clocking in at a packing plant. They lived in a series of rentals on Adams, on L Street saving their money, their older children working and contributing, too.

It was a dream come true for us, said Freddy Pika, a son. For once, we started to look at a future of peace.

They walked around the city at first, to Super Saver and Kmart. They rode bikes to school, and the bus during winter. They saved enough to buy cars. They saved enough to buy a house.

They became U.S. citizens. And they became part of their new community.

He was one of the best neighbors I ever had, said Bob Davis, who moved next to the Pikas in 2002. He was a man of integrity. He was honest. He was always willing to help a guy out.

Davis admired the familys structure how the boys worked hard, avoided troublemakers and deferred to their older siblings. Davis would help them conquer small home repair jobs; the Pikas would ask him over to dinner.

They remained close, even after Davis moved a few years later. Hes attended most of the Pika childrens weddings.

All of his sons, if you look at his sons, thats one of the ways you can judge a guy, Davis said.

The Pika children learned English, graduated from Lincoln East, attended Southeast Community College and then earned degrees from four-year universities. They are managers and nurses and administrators and business owners.

Lincoln is our home, Percy Pika said. Lincoln adopted us.

But Marcel Pika was missing something, and he found part of it in the Sandhills. Percy Pika had married a woman whose grandmother lived in Broken Bow, and he drove his father west one weekend.

They visited a farm and a ranch, his father taking notes and making sketches. For my dad, he felt like home, being around farms. That was his dream. He wanted to end up retiring and doing that.

He wanted to own his own farm in his own homeland. And in 2007, eight years after moving to Lincoln and two years after becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, Marcel Pika returned to the Congo, buying 46 acres with his wife to grow vegetables and raise pigs and chickens, his sons said.

They had been assured it was safe to return. And it was, until Sassou Nguesso's latest re-election bid.

Marcel Pika was napping when the men came. He wasn't even wearing a shirt.

* * *

Picture the worst prison Hollywood can conjure, with killings and torture and trash and human waste, a place where you have to be careful where you step, and that's what his father's prison is like, Percy Pika said.

His father must fill a water bucket in the morning and find a place to bathe. It's not enough.

Every time I go see my dad, I smell like it. My dad, he smells like it.

Percy Pika and his family had been living in the Republic of Congo but returned to the safety of Lincoln after his father's detention.

He and his siblings have since spent thousands of dollars supporting their parents, they say. Their father has diabetes, so they hire a maid to cook his diet-specific meals and a driver to deliver them to the prison. They pay for his medication. They pay their mother's living expenses.

They've also spent the past year and a half lobbying for their father's release.

Marcel Pika is under investigation for supporting Sassou Nguesso's opposition, his sons say. They've heard he and others are accused of organizing a strike to protest the election results.

But they call it a witch hunt by a president holding a grudge.

Its simply a matter of you vote against a dictatorship and he throws you in prison, said Audrey Pika, the youngest son. There is nothing. Their case is empty.

So are their efforts to get their father released. They've repeatedly asked politicians for help requesting meetings with lawmakers, an audience with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a statement from President Donald Trump but have little to show for it.

Based on all the responses we've gotten, there's nothing concrete, Freddy Pika said.

They've heard plenty of words.

The State Department provided the Journal Star with a statement this week, saying it's following the case closely, it's concerned about Marcel Pika's detention and it's calling on the Congolese government to respect due process and human rights. Its consular team in Brazzaville is visiting Marcel Pika in prison and providing assistance, it added.

The U.S. Embassy has repeatedly raised concerns about Mr. Pika's case, including his health, at the highest levels in the Republic of Congo.

Last week, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts issued his own statement, calling for Marcel Pika's immediate release to U.S. authorities. I have urged members of our federal delegation and officials at the U.S. Department of State to continue to do everything in their power to secure the safe release of Mr. Pika, the governor said.

In June, a New Jersey congressman spoke in support of Marcel Pika: The principle of due process demands that Congo-Brazzaville should have released Marcel Pika long ago, but the government continues to ignore their own laws and continue his imprisonment without charging him or bringing him to trial, Chris Smith said.

Marcel Pika's sons did get a face-to-face meeting with Sen. Deb Fischer, but they haven't heard anything from Sen. Ben Sasse, and his Washington office didn't return a call seeking comment.

This week, they heard hope from Rep. Jeff Fortenberry's office: His chief of staff met Wednesday with Congolese Ambassador Serge Mombouli, who pledged to visit with his country's president and justice minister about the case.

We have undertaken active engagement with the Congolese government, appealing to them to quickly free Mr. Pika, particularly given his condition, Fortenberry said in a statement. We are attempting to bring him home safely to Lincoln, where he can reunite with his family, who are active members of our community.

Fortenberry originally contacted the ambassador in June and plans to stay focused on the case, a staffer said.

And so will his family. They don't understand why the U.S. government hasn't pushed harder, and earlier, for the release of one of its citizens.

They point to the State Department's own 2016 Human Rights Report for the Republic of Congo, which includes allegations of government-coordinated killings, torture, rape, arbitrary arrests of political prisoners and harsh detention conditions.

Percy and Audrey Pika traveled to Washington in July, and they're planning another trip next week.

Since his imprisonment, Marcel Pika has missed a sons wedding and college graduation, the births of four grandchildren, the burial of one.

They worry he will be next, Percy Pika said.

We fear well end up losing our dad.

Read more:
Family fights for former Lincolnite imprisoned in Africa: 'We fear we'll end up losing our dad' - Lincoln Journal Star

By Carrie Dennett, Special to The Washington Post

The concept of eating a plant-based diet is tossed around frequently, but its a label that can be confusing. Some people shy away from the notion because they assume that plant-based is code for vegan. On the other hand, its easy to think that eating all plants and no animals guarantees that your diet is healthful and nutritious. But does it?

The research in support of plant-based diets is bountiful, which is likely because of what they include vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and fiber as much as what they dont excess saturated fat. But one limitation of much of that research is that it defines plant-based as vegetarian. Plant-based diets can take many forms, from vegan to vegetarian to flexitarian to omnivore. The common denominator is that they make plant foods the focal point of the plate. If you choose to eat animal foods like meat, poultry, fish, eggs or dairy, they play smaller, supporting roles.

The other limitation is that the research tends to treat all plant-based diets equally, without regard to food quality. The fact is that many people focus on avoiding certain foods but are blind to whether the rest of their diet is nutritionally adequate. This is one of the perils of demonizing specific foods no one food makes or breaks a diet, and its your overall eating pattern that matters most for health and well-being.

Thats not the message you get from many of the recent plant-based diet documentary (in other words, propaganda) films. The latest, What the Health, blames animal foods for every ill known to man and woman. While excessive amounts of animal protein and fat arent good for us, that doesnt mean that moderate amounts in the context of a plant-rich diet are harmful. An excessive amount of anything isnt good even water and a cupcake is a cupcake, even if its vegan.

A recent study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology seems to agree. It found that when it comes to the plants you eat, quality does count and omnivores have a place at the plant-based table, too.

The study, which came from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, included more than 200,000 women and men from the Nurses Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, aimed to get a clearer answer on both quantity and quality of plant foods needed to see a benefit for health. This included the role of animal foods. Researchers measured what proportion of each participants diet was plant-based, and whether those plant foods were healthful vegetables, fruits, whole grains or unhealthful sweetened beverages, refined grains, sweets.

They found that a diet rich in healthful plant foods is associated with a substantially lower risk of developing heart disease, while a plant-based diet that emphasizes less-healthful plant foods is associated with increased risk of heart disease. Those eating a nutritious plant-based diet while also being more physically active fare even better. In a 2016 study, the researchers found similar results for the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The study also supports the value of a plant-rich diet even for omnivores. Individuals who ate the least plant foods were eating about five or six servings of animal foods per day, while those with the most plant foods were eating three servings of animal foods. This means that reducing not eliminating animal foods even slightly while increasing healthy plant foods has benefits for preventing heart disease and diabetes. This allows a lot of flexibility with eating. The traditional Mediterranean diet follows this pattern, as do other healthful dietary patterns from around the globe.

While association does not prove cause and effect, there are various physiological mechanisms that may explain the health benefits of a plant-based diet. Whole and minimally processed plant foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients and antioxidants, along with heart-healthy unsaturated fats and dietary fiber. Together, this can promote healthy blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels, while lowering inflammation and nourishing your gut microbiota. To reap these benefits, heres what to eat more of:

At the same time, heres what to eat less of:

In this era of free-from foods (lactose-free, gluten-free, GMO-free), this study is a reminder that for nutrition and health, what you do eat matters as much as, if not more than, what you dont eat.

Read more here:
Plant-based diet? Sure, but first understand what it means - The Denver Post