Diet Cig gained some buzz in the New York indie scene over the past few years, enough to land the duo a deal with Frenchkiss for their debut LP Swear Im Good At This, and enough to sell out the back-to-back release shows at Babys All Right last Friday (4/7). They were in good spirits at the early show, excited about the Brooklyn shows and the album. Singer and guitarist Alex Luciano addressed the all ages crowd often, specifically relating to the teenagers and spoke a bit about the meanings of many of the songs before playing them. Pictures of the early show, which had Nashville Infinity Cat-signed band Daddy Issues opening, are in the gallery above.

In a move that hearkened back to the websites earlier days, Pitchfork, who gave the albums first single a favorable review, slammed Diet Cig with a 5.1 album review on that same Friday release day (4/7). Reviewer Quinn Moreland included zingers like this:

And this:

And this:

And this:

And this:

But the real gut-punch is this:

Twitter outrage ensued, including from others in the music world. Editor of indie music blog The Alternative, Emily Dubin, tweeted The diet cig pitchfork review reeks of jealousy and pompousness. Young girls need a role model like Alex. I need a role model like Alex, which Wavves retweeted. Wavves then tweeted, for wavves it doesnt matter wht pfork thinks of me. they post abt me everytime i sneeze. go ahead and pan my record ill still sell out shows and just getting wild how obviously personal the reviews are getting. im glad ppl at least can see that its more of a game than actual substance.

Punk Talks, an organization that aims to provide free mental health assistance to bands, industry professionals, and fans, tweeted, I think that @quinnmoreland wrote a juvenile and sexist piece about a defining album in an exciting time in punk music. Shame on you.

Current Rolling Stone contributor (and former SPIN/Village Voice/Parts & Labor/etc contributor) Chris Weingarten suggested, This lede is illuminating: It basically admits modern music writing & indie rock are mostly about Twitter optics.

PWR BTTM, who are friends with and have toured with Diet Cig and were at one of the Babys shows (and even joined Diet Cig on stage), and whose Big Beautiful Day video stars Alex Luciano from Diet Cig, have been liking tweets in defense of Diet Cig. One was from former Pity Sex member Britty Drake saying, Can we all agree that fuck pitchfork and love @dietcig. They also liked this one:

And in the replies to that tweet, Punk Talks said, Wow. Way to turn an incredible and defining album like @dietcigs into the cry of a whiny meninist. The Alternative said, I had to check that this was real. What a horrible review. Way to completely not get it.

Here is some more of the Twitter outrage:

Reviewer Quinn Moreland later replied to the outrage:

In reply to Quinns tweet, former Pitchfork editor (and current editor in chief of The Creative Independent) Brandon Stosuy said, your reviews on point. people would be better off listening to Ks 90s indie pop catalogue. feels more culturally relevant in 2017. Allison Crutchfield and a whole bunch of Pitchfork writers liked that one.

Pitchfork contributor Matthew Strauss backed Quinns review as well:

And Tavi Gevinson (who recently moved into a new apartment) backed Quinn with this reply:

What do you think? Either way, this much is true:

photos by Ester Segretto

More here:
Pitchfork panned Diet Cig, Twitter outrage ensued +++ pics from Baby's - Brooklyn Vegan (blog)

The health benefits of extra-virgin olive oil are well-known, but less is known about the biological and physiological mechanisms behind these benefits. New research shows that a compound found in extra-virgin olive oil can reverse the adverse health effects of a high-fat diet.

Previous research has shown that olive oil - and especially extra-virgin olive oil - may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, not much is known about the mechanisms responsible for this association between olive oil consumption and cardiovascular health benefits.

This is why a team of researchers - led by Dr. Rodrigo Valenzuela from the University of Chile in South America - set out to investigate the effects of a compound found in extra-virgin olive oil on the health of mice.

The compound is called hydroxytyrosol and, as the scientists explain, it is a polyphenol with well-known antioxidant properties. These properties have been suspected to be the reason behind the many health benefits of olive oil.

This new research, however, shows that hydroxytyrosol also has a protective effect on the liver. The findings were published in the journal Lipids in Health and Disease.

Dr. Valenzuela and colleagues examined the effects of hydroxytyrosol on mice that were fed a diet high in fats.

Specifically, they looked at certain enzymes that play a key role in the synthesis of some polyunsaturated fatty acids. Polyunsaturated fats are beneficial to one's health because they can lower "bad" cholesterol levels, improve cardiovascular health, brain function, and cell growth.

The so-called bad cholesterol is also known as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. It is referred to as the "bad" cholesterol because it is the kind of fat that can build up inside the arteries, hardening or blocking them over time and contributing to a number of cardiovascular diseases.

By contrast, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol is known as the "good" cholesterol because it transports the cholesterol from other parts of the human body back to the liver, where it is processed and eliminated.

The researchers fed four groups of mice, each comprising 12 to 14 rodents, either a high-fat diet (consisting of 60 percent fat) or a control diet (with only 10 percent fat). Additionally, some mice were also administered 5 milligrams of hydroxytyrosol per kilogram of body weight over a period of 12 weeks.

Dr. Valenzuela and team took blood and tissue samples from the mice at the end of the experiment. They analyzed the effects of the diet on the composition of fatty acids, the activity of the enzymes considered, and on oxidative stress.

In the mice that had been fed a high-fat diet, both the total cholesterol levels and the levels of LDL-cholesterol increased, while the HDL cholesterol remained unchanged. However, hydroxytyrosol seemed to reduce the negative effect of these types of cholesterol in the mice that had taken it.

A high-fat diet also seemed to raise the markers of insulin resistance. Again, in the mice that had also taken hydroxytyrosol, these markers were reduced. However, they were not as low as the levels of the mice that had been on a regular diet.

Importantly, mice that had been on a high-fat diet showed decreased levels of the liver enzymes that help to synthesize the beneficial polyunsaturated fatty acids. The reduction in the liver enzymes was connected with an imbalance in the fatty acids found in the liver, brain, and heart.

However, the mice whose high-fat diet was also supplemented with hydroxytyrosol showed enzymatic activity and fatty acid composition similar to that of the mice that were fed a normal diet. This suggests that hydroxytyrosol may have reversed the damaging effects of a high-fat diet.

Dr. Valenzuela explains the results:

"Our results indicate that hydroxytyrosol may be a key part of the health benefits of extra-virgin olive oil.

Mice fed on a high-fat diet had signs of nonalcoholic liver disease which we believe has led to the noticeable reduction in enzyme activity in the liver and the negative effects on fatty acid composition in this, and other, organs. We also found that the liver showed signs of increased oxidative stress, which we know has links to fatty liver disease. It is intriguing that adding a relatively low dose of hydroxytyrosol to the diet was able to reverse these effects, reduce the signs of fatty liver disease, and reduce negative effects seen in the other organs."

Learn how a recent protein discovery may offer new treatment target for fatty liver.

See the original post:
Olive oil compound found to reverse the damage of high-fat diet - Medical News Today

Atkins Nutritional Holdings, the company behind the Atkins diet, agreed on Tuesday to go public and merge with Conyers Park Acquisition. The deal values the new company, called Simply Good Foods Co., at $856 million.

Roark Capital Group, a private equity firm that acquired Atkins for $301 million in late 2010, will receive $730.1 million when the deal is expected to close in June, including just less than 10.3 million shares of Simply Good Foods Co. at a value of $10 a share. The firm has a history in investing in the food industry, recently acquiring a majority stake in Jimmy John's.

The new company will be listed on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker SMPL.

Atkins, which reached mainstream popularity around a decade and a half ago when its high-protein, low-carb diet took off, now focuses on selling protein bars and other packaged nutritional cuisine. The company had previously attempted to go public at a valuation of around $1 billion in 2015, but those plans fizzled out. The company, which has now been sold five times since its founder Robert Atkins died in 2003, filed for bankruptcy in 2005 after the perception of its diet started to sour after nutritional experts criticized its focus on fatty foods and de-emphasis of fruit and vegetable consumption.

Conyers is known as a blank check company, which means it doesnt have an established business plan aside from mergers and acquisitions . Shares of Conyers were up more than 1.5% in midday trading and more than 4% for the year.

Go here to see the original:
The Company Behind the Atkins Diet Is Going Public - Fortune

Kate Hudson always has that glow. You know what we mean. The actress, author, mom of two, and apparel company Fabletics co-founder seems to always have that fresh-faced, bright-eyed look, no matter where she is or what she's doing.

So what's her secret to staying so impossibly gorgeous and healthy? Lots of pilates and dancing, she revealed in an interview with SELF. "I believe in traditional pilates because I think that our bodies need to be aligned, and what that does for your body is it makes it so strong, she said in the interview.

Exercise is only half the story, however. Hudson has dabbled with a lot of different diets, including being vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, and Paleo. What worked best for her (and gave her the best skin of her life)? Going vegan, she revealed.

Currently, she's not totally vegan, but tries to eat vegan two to three times a week. On those days, her diet consists of lots of beans, spinach, and kale. But her absolute favorite vegan meal? The meat-free Impossible Burger from Crossroads Kitchen in L.A. "Its one of the greatest things. Its so good. Its crazy how theyve been able to do that it tastes just like a regular burger," Hudson marveled.

When she's not eating vegan, Hudson cooks a lot of meatballs "My kids love meatballs" she said and makes what she calls "Nothing Chicken," a dish that's nothing more than chicken, lots of salt, and pepper. "When you salt a chicken generously and put it in the oven at 450, for 20 minutes on one side and then 20 minutes on the other, and you take it out, its perfect. You dont need anything else," she told SELF.

Whatever she's eating whether vegan or not it's clearly working.

The Feast is Bravo's home for the biggest, boldest, most crave-worthy eating experiences. Want more? Then Like us on Facebook to stay connected to our daily updates.

Original post:
Kate Hudson's Secret to Staying Fit? She Says This Diet Is the Best She's Ever Tried - Bravo (blog)

April 11, 2017

Grain-free diets are one of the largest growing segments of the pet food market. More and more pet owners are choosing these diets, which are billed as more natural and less likely to cause health problems and allergies. It all sounds greatexcept that those claims are not true.

There is no reliable evidence that suggests that it's harmful to feed grains to dogs or cats. Whole grains contain valuable dietary nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and fiber. Some grain products have protein that is easier for your pet to digest than some protein from meat. Even refined grains such as white rice can be beneficial for your pet's health, depending on the type of diet and the pet.

The vast majority of dogs and cats are very efficient at digesting and using more than 90 percent of the nutrients from grains in the amounts typically found in pet foods. While food allergies in pets are uncommon, allergies to grains are even rarer. The small number of pets that have allergies are most often allergic to animal proteins, such as chicken, beef and dairy. Gluten intolerance is also exceedingly rare in pets. Gastrointestinal symptoms caused by consuming gluten have been confirmed in just one inbred family of Irish setters.

Grain-free diets can vary widely in terms of their nutritional profiles. Some are lower in carbohydrates, which means that they can be quite high in both fat and calories. Other grain-free diets merely substitute similar amounts of highly refined starches, such as those from potatoes or tapioca (also called cassava), in place of grains. These ingredients may provide fewer nutrients and less fiber than whole grains, and foods containing them can cost more.

Other pet food companies use ingredients such as peas, beans or lentils instead of grains to provide carbohydrates, but these ingredients are not necessarily any better for your pet than grains and may cause digestive upset in some animals.

The bottom line is that "grain-free" is a marketing concept designed to sell pet food, not an evidenced-based solution for helping your pet live a long, healthy life.

Explore further: New study finds that eating whole grains increases metabolism and calorie loss

A new study suggests that substituting whole grains for refined grains in the diet increases calorie loss by reducing calories retained during digestion and speeding up metabolism. This research is published in tandem with ...

In a clinical trial, adults who consumed a diet rich in whole grains rather than refined grains had modest improvements in healthy gut microbiota and certain immune responses. The research was conducted in tandem with a study ...

(Medical Xpress)Many parents presume their children will shun whole grains because they think they don't like them, a University of Florida researcher says, but a new UF study may start to debunk that idea.

In the past few years there has been a surge in gluten-free diets and products that claim giving up the protein can lead to healthier lifestyles. A New York Times article recently cited Mintel, a market research company, ...

Eating at least three servings of whole grains every day could lower your risk of death, according to new research in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation.

Ten years ago, a consumer seeking out gluten-free foods in their grocery store would have been hard pressed to find much. And the few products that did tout the attribute were probably dry, bland, and badly texturedoverall, ...

Millions of years before humans discovered agriculture, vast farming systems were thriving beneath the surface of the Earth. The subterranean farms, which produced various types of fungi, were cultivated and maintained by ...

Changes in a single color-vision gene demonstrate convergent evolutionary adaptations in widely separated species and across vastly different time scales, according to a study publishing on April 11 in the open access journal ...

One of the largest colonies of gentoo penguins in Antarctica was decimated by volcanic eruptions several times during the last 7,000 years according to a new study. An international team of researchers, led by British Antarctic ...

While DNA sequencing provides precise, nucleotide-by-nucleotide genomic information, genome mapping provides a bigger-picture perspective of sequenced DNA that can provide valuable structural information. Like mapping roads ...

Research by the University of Kent has revealed how tiny amounts of DNA (eDNA) released into water by great crested newts can be used to monitor the species. This can bring benefits for its conservation, and help protect ...

An antimicrobial protein caused a dramatic reduction in the creamy white lesions associated with oral thrush in a preclinical study, report microbiologists with McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas Health Science ...

Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank

Display comments: newest first

I have read that studies showed that domesticated dog's stomachs, thru several thousand years of adaption can handle grains much better that wolf's stomachs.

Please sign in to add a comment. Registration is free, and takes less than a minute. Read more

Read the original:
Is a grain-free diet healthier for my dogs and cats? - Phys.Org