New York Times

A Diet for Lead Poisoning? It Probably Doesn't Work New York Times The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a diet high in calcium, iron and vitamin C as a way of lowering children's blood lead levels, but a review of studies has found little evidence that it works. The C.D.C. recommends that children ...

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A Diet for Lead Poisoning? It Probably Doesn't Work - New York Times

Evidence lacking to support 'lead diet' Science Daily But if recommendations are being made based on diet or foods, there should be evidence backing that up, and the evidence is very limited. If the recommendation is that you should be eating iron-rich foods or red meat, there should be studies that have ... and more »

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Evidence lacking to support 'lead diet' - Science Daily

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

The Mediterranean diet is easy to find in the grocery store, contains nutrients that are known to enhance longevity and has other health benefits that are backed by peer-reviewed, scientific studies. Broccoli makes the list because it's one of nature's most nutrient-dense foods, with only 30 calories per cup. That means you get a ton of hunger-curbing fiber and polyphenols -- antioxidants that detoxify cell-damaging chemicals in your body -- with each serving.

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Doctors suggest using olive oil rather than butter to make your meals. A Spanish study found a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil reduced the incidence of major cardiovascular events among patients with a history of heart disease.

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Quinoa is the popular whole-grain du jour because it also contains a good dose of protein to help build muscle. Yet including any type of whole grain in your diet -- from barley to brown rice -- will aid in weight loss by filling you up for fewer calories.

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Many dieters shy away from nuts because of their high calorie and fat count. But studies show that eating a handful several times a week can prevent heart disease and ultimately help you shed pounds since they fill you up and stop you from snacking on other things. Almonds, in particular, contain lots of monounsaturated fats and fiber. (Healthy swap: Replace peanut butter with almond butter.)

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Salmon is also a good source of lean protein. With this diet, doctors suggest eating fish at least two times a week. Salmon provides a high dose of omega-3 fatty acids, which studies show significantly lower the risk of heart disease. Omega-3 fatty acids fight back by reducing inflammation and slowing the rate of plaque buildup in blood vessels.

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Beans, beans, the magical fruit; the more you eat, the more ... you lose weight. Black, kidney, white and garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas) are good for fiber and protein. They fill you up and provide muscle-building material without any of the fat that meat can add to your meal.

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Walnuts are packed with tryptophan, an amino acid your body needs to create the feel-great chemical serotonin. (In fact, Spanish researchers found that walnut eaters have higher levels of this natural mood-regulator.) Another perk: "They're digested slowly," said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center. "This contributes to mood stability and can help you tolerate stress."

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

Asparagus is one of the best veggie sources of folate, a B vitamin that could help keep you out of a mental slump. "Folate is important for the synthesis of the neurotransmitters dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine," said David Mischoulon, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. All of these are crucial for mood.

Delicious Mediterranean diet foods

It's not a requirement to drink it on this diet, but if you do drink alcohol, red wine in moderate amounts can be good for your health. Moderation means one drink for women and two for men, by the way. Studies show red wine can help protect against heart disease.

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Mediterranean diet linked to lower risk of breast cancer type, study says - CNN

Honeybrains, a new restaurant in New York City, is giving a whole new meaning to brain food. The fast-casual eatery offers only nutrient-packed meals, specifically made to boost your brain health.

Its co-owned by neurologist Dr. Alon Seifan, whose private practice in Hollywood, Florida, specializes in aging and dementia. There are three things that food does to improve our body and brain health, Seifan said.

One, good food can improve metabolism, number two, good food can improve our circulation, and number three, good food can improve the balance of nutrients and inflammation in our body, Dr. Alon Seifan told Fox News.

5 TRENDY HEALTH FOODS THAT AREN'T WORTH YOUR MONEY

Seifan, along with his siblings, and business partner Christophe Jadot, set out to open a health-conscious restaurant that took principles from eating methods found in the Blue Zones around the world, like the Mediterranean diet. People in Blue Zones tend to live longer and healthier lives than the average person.

A recent study published inthe journal Neurology found that older adults who closely followed a Mediterranean-like diet were less likely to lose brain volume as they aged, compared with those who didn't follow the diet.

They all have the same thing in common. It's five food groups its the fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and healthy fats, Seifan said. So we have an entire menu based on those five food groups, any combination of those is both delicious and good for us.

7 WRINKLE-FIGHTING FOODS PROBABLY ALREADY IN YOUR KITCHEN

Chef Kevin Chun, Honeybrains executive chef and chief culinary officer, created a menu that garnishes those five food groups with herbs, spices, fermented foods and natural sweeteners from nature.

"Our main spice blend incorporates a couple of different paprikas, garlic, cumin, coriander seeds, a lot of spices that you might find in Mediterranean flavors, Chun told Fox News.

Youll also find dishes full of super foods like nuts, avocados, leafy greens. and of course honey, which is full of antioxidants.

"Antioxidants improve our circulation, and they improve the stability of the cell membranes in our eyes andour brain," Seifan said.

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The restaurant doesnt just aim to feed the hungry. When designing Honeybrains, Seifan wanted to provide a complete brain wellness experience for his customers that would help educate them on how food can help fight epidemic's like Alzheimers. According to the Alzheimers Association, an estimated 5.4 million Americans of all ages had Alzheimers disease in 2016.

On Thursdays, Honeybrains hosts Thursday Night Talks, a moderated session where experts share information on a variety of health topics. You can also catch Chef Chung at one of their monthly cooking classes to learn how to prepare brain-healthy meals, like their best-selling Avocado Crush Toast.

Avocado Crush Toast

-Slice and toast a thick piece of seeded sourdough bread.

-Smash a half an avocado into a small mixing bowl and add lemon juice, salt and pepper.

- Spread avocado mixture onto toast.

-Sprinkle a mix of Chi seed and Hemp seed salt on top.

-Finish by drizzling extra virgin olive oil over the toast.

-Garnish with a fresh herbs; basil, chives and parsley.

For more, visit Honeybrains.com.

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Feed your brain with these 5 food groups - Fox News

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People struggling to resist tasty tidbits have a harder time sticking to their diets when at a restaurant or even just when they have company, a new study found.

The data showed that when people are at a restaurant or eating with others its pretty easy to succumb to temptation and have those French fries, said study co-author Stephen Rathbun, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Georgia.

Rathbun and his colleagues followed 150 people, 90 percent of whom were women, for 12 months to learn what makes people more likely to succumb to dietary temptation.

RELATED: When you eat can be as important as what you eat

The average body mass index (BMI) of the study volunteers was 34, which would translate into a 5-foot-4-inch woman, weighing 200 pounds or a 5-foot-9-inch man weighing 230 pounds.

Volunteers were given target calorie counts that were related to their weights. So, for example, women weighing less than 200 pounds were to aim for 1,200 calories a day, while women weighing more than 200 pounds were to try to keep their consumption to 1,500 calories a day.

RELATED: How to pair your foods to make them even more nutritious

The volunteers used a custom-developed application on smart phones to report when and where they felt tempted to break their diets. They also reported whether they gave into temptations, such as craving a large serving of calorie-dense food, a slice of cheesecake or several pieces of candy.

People were most likely surrender to temptation if they were with others, dining at a restaurant or at someone else's house. In fact, at restaurants there was a 60 percent chance the siren call of tempting food would win out over will power.

The odds of succumbing to the temptation of tasty treats was lower when people were at work or in their cars.

The researchers didnt count deviations from the diet that were planned.

RELATED: These 10 foods affect your risk of heart disease most

If a couple was going out to celebrate their anniversary, then whatever they ate on that special occasion was not considered a lapse, Rathbun said. We were concerned more about the unplanned lapses, when, for example, people went out with friends and ordered cake because everybody else did.

That doesn't mean we can't eat out if we want to hold firm with our diets.

Keri Glassman, a registered dietitian and TODAY contributor, made a few suggestions for powering past temptation while dining out. In her world, restaurants can be part of a healthy lifestyle if you make some adjustments. Here's her advice:

This one might seem counter intuitive: You're going out to dinner, so you should go hungry, right? Wrong.

"You don't want to get to the restaurant and dive head first into the bread basket," Glassman explained. To prevent this from happening, she suggested having a healthy snack (hard-boiled egg, 15 almonds or two slices of turkey) about an hour before you go.

RELATED: 6 smart grab-and-go snack options

If your friend orders French fries, you're more likely to do the same. But, the opposite approach works, too:

"If the first person orders something healthy, you'll be surprised at how many people follow suit," Glassman advised. So raise your hand, order first and choose the healthiest thing on the menu.

Order a glass of club soda or sparkling water instead of having a drink.

"It's an easy way to cut down on the alcohol for the evening," said Glassman.

RELATED: Drinking water is associated with healthier body weight, new study finds

"If there isn't a soup or salad that's fairly clean and simple, check out the vegetable side options," said Glassman. She recommended ordering something like broccoli rabe or green beans.

Portions are huge at restaurants! According to Glassman, the appetizer portion is usually the perfect choice.

"If you can't find any appetizers that you like, split an entree with a friend," Glassman said.

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Dieting? You may have to forgo lunch with the girls - Today.com

By Karen Pallarito

HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, March 7, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly half of all deaths from heart disease, stroke and diabetes in the United States are associated with diets that skimp on certain foods and nutrients, such as vegetables, and exceed optimal levels of others, like salt, a new study finds.

Using available studies and clinical trials, researchers identified 10 dietary factors with the strongest evidence of a protective or harmful association with death due to "cardiometabolic" disease.

"It wasn't just too much 'bad' in the American diet; it's also not enough 'good,'" said lead author Renata Micha.

"Americans are not eating enough fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, whole grains, vegetable oils or fish," she said.

Micha is an assistant research professor at the Tufts University School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston.

The researchers used data from multiple national sources to examine deaths from cardiometabolic diseases -- heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes -- in 2012, and the role that diet may have played.

"In the U.S. in 2012, we observed about 700,000 deaths due to those diseases," Micha said. "Nearly half of these were associated with suboptimal intakes of the 10 dietary factors combined."

Too much salt in people's diets was the leading factor, accounting for nearly 10 percent of cardiometabolic deaths, according to the analysis.

The study identifies 2,000 milligrams a day, or less than 1 teaspoon of salt, as the optimal amount. While experts don't agree on how low to go, there is broad consensus that people consume too much salt, Micha noted.

Other key factors in cardiometabolic death included low intake of nuts and seeds, seafood omega-3 fats, vegetables, fruits and whole grains, and high intake of processed meats (such as cold cuts) and sugar-sweetened beverages.

Each of these factors accounted for between 6 percent and 9 percent of deaths from heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

"Optimal" intake of foods and nutrients was based on levels associated with lower disease risk in studies and clinical trials. Micha cautioned that these levels are not conclusive. Optimal intake "could be modestly lower or higher," she explained.

Low consumption of polyunsaturated fats (found in soybean, sunflower and corn oils) accounted for just over 2 percent of cardiometabolic deaths, according to the study. High consumption of unprocessed red meats (such as beef) was responsible for less than one half of 1 percent of these deaths, the analysis showed.

The take-home message: "Eat more of the good and less of the bad," Micha said.

Vegetable intake, for example, was considered optimal at four servings per day. That would be roughly equivalent to 2 cups of cooked or 4 cups of raw veggies, she said.

Fruit intake was deemed optimal at three daily servings: "For example, one apple, one orange and half of an average-size banana," she continued.

"And eat less salt, processed meats, and sugary-sweetened beverages," she said.

The study also found that poor diet was associated with a larger proportion of deaths at younger versus older ages, among people with lower versus higher levels of education, and among minorities versus whites.

Dr. Ashkan Afshin is acting assistant professor of global health at the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

"I commend the current study's authors for exploring sociodemographic factors, like ethnicity and education, and their role in the relationship of diet with cardiometabolic disease," said Afshin, who was not involved in the study.

"This is an area that deserves more attention so that we may fully understand the connection between diet and health," he said.

The study doesn't prove that improving your diet reduces risk of death from heart disease, stroke and diabetes, but suggests that dietary changes may have an impact.

"It is important to know which dietary habits affect health the most so that people can make healthy changes in how they eat and how they feed their families," Afshin said.

The study was published March 7 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

In an accompanying journal editorial, researchers from Johns Hopkins University urged caution in interpreting the findings.

According to Noel Mueller and Dr. Lawrence Appel, the results may be biased by the number of dietary factors included, the interaction of dietary factors and the authors' "strong assumption" that evidence from observational studies implies a cause-and-effect relationship.

Still, the editorialists concluded that the likely benefits of an improved diet "are substantial and justify policies designed to improve diet quality."

WebMD News from HealthDay

SOURCES: Renata Micha, R.D., Ph.D., assistant research professor, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston; Ashkan Afshin, M.D., Sc.D., acting assistant professor of global health, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle; March 7, 2017, Journal of the American Medical Association

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Poor Diet Tied to Heart Disease, Diabetes Deaths - WebMD

Ever since Adele came out with her Grammy Award-winning 25, shes been on a major health kick. The singer says she ditched cigarettes and now works out regularly with her trainer, who puts all of his clients (which, in addition to Adele, include Pippa Middleton and Kim Cattrall) on The Sirtfood Diet.

The diet book, which launches in the U.S. March 7, focuses on Sirtfoods a newly discovered group of wonderfoods that are in common, everyday items like kale, cocoa, strawberries, coffee and more.

FROM COINAGE: Try This Healthy, Cheap Late-Night Snack

Sirtfoods are a newly discovered group of wonder foods that contain special plant nutrients known as polyphenols that activate a powerful recycling process in the body which clears out cellular waste and burns fat, the programs creators, Aidan Goggins and Glen Matten, explain. They do this by activating our sirtuin genes also known as our skinny genes. Indeed, these are the very same genes that are activated by fasting and exercise.

Goggins and Matten searched for foods with the highest levels of polyphenols to formulate a diet plan that Adeles trainer, Pete Geracimo, says isnt really a diet.

Whenever I talk nutrition with my clients, if theyre trying to lose weight, I always tell them to look at these Sirtfoods, he told PEOPLE. You lose weight without losing muscle. It takes it to the next level.

The program is split into two phases that each last seven days. Dieters start phase one by replacing breakfast and lunch with three green juices, with meals like Asian shrimp stir-fry with buckwheat noodles or miso and sesame-glazed tofu with ginger and chili stir-fried greens for dinner. By day four, users are up to two full meals a day, and by phase two, their eating Sirtfood-rich meals at regular intervals.

RELATED VIDEO:Adeles Workout Mean Mug is Giving us #WorkoutGoals!

Goggins and Matten found in trials that dieters lost an average of 7 lbs. in seven days and one PEOPLE reporter is going to put that challenge to the test over the next week. Stay tuned!

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Everything You Want to Know About the Diet Adele's Trainer Uses with All of His Clients - PEOPLE.com

This is truly the stuff your wildest revenge fantasies are made of.

After a crush rejected her several years ago for her size, a young, overweight girl from Indianapolis managed to shed about 140 poundsand tell him boy, bye.

Rachael Heffner, 25, once weighed 285 poundsand would regularlyguzzle up to four large bottles of soda per day.

Though she originally made the resolution to lose weight with the intention of winning over her crush, she no longer has any desire to date him now that shes adopted a healthier lifestyle.

According to MailOnline, Heffner said,

My initial motivation was to prove people wrong. In college I was rejected by a boy and I wanted to show him that hed made a mistake.

I liked him and he didnt like me, he made it known it was because of the way that I looked and that he wasnt attracted to me because I was heavier.

Apparently, the same boy has asked her out a few times since shes slimmed down, but she made sure to let him know theyre just going to be friends.

She added,

I also told him that he was the reason I started losing weight, which really shocked him and he apologized for what he said when we were younger.

But Im glad he rejected me, I actually thanked him for it, as he was the reason I was able to get to the size I am today, and theres no point holding grudges.

Heffnersweight gain began after her mother tragically lost a battle with cancer. Shefound solace in comfort eating during the difficult time, despite her fathers attempts to get her on the right track.

She said,

I was a little chubby when I was a kid, but after my mum became really sick and passed away I gained a lot of weight.

Since I was so young when she died, I didnt learn about nutrition from her and I was too set in my ways to listen to my dads advice about food.

At age 20, after years of indulging in large portions of sugary snacks, sodas and potato chips, Heffnersbody mass index was over 50, the World Health Organizations highest level of obesity.

She made a New Years resolution six years ago to start losing weight, and now, shes achieved that goal.

Shesaid giving up soda was possibly the most difficult of all her sacrifices, though small lifestyle adjustments went a long way in helping to curb her eating habits:

At first my body missed the sugar, I had to gradually reduce it by switching to Gatorade before going to water.

I also started making meals myself instead of eating out and I cut my portions in half.

It was hard at first, whenever I was hungry I would snack on fruits or vegetables and before eating Id drink a glass of water to help fill me up more.

Along with these small diet changes, she also began working out regularly with her college roommate. Before she knew it, shed lost 140 pounds.

Unfortunately, with her amazing weight loss came a significant amount of saggy skin around her mid-section.

She said,

My next major trial will get getting my loose and excess skin removed.

Ive been trying to tone up for a while, but its not worked, and its hard being young with excess skin.

I can deal with stretch marks, but the loose skin haunts me and reminds me of the girl I used to be, all I want is finally be able to be comfortable in my own skin.

Along with working three jobs and selling some of her old belongings on the side, Heffneris trying to raise $15,000 for excess skin removal surgery to complete her transformation.

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Woman Who Lost 140 Lbs To Get Revenge On Crush Shares Simple Diet She Swears By - Elite Daily

In what may be good news for dieters, a study has found that the artificial sweetener sucralose suppresses food intake. The study contradicts one published last year that found sucralose increases appetite.

Both studies were published in the same scientific journal, Cell Metabolism, and both worked from the same set of facts regarding sucralose consumption in fruit flies and mice. But the new study found what its authors say is a simpler explanation for the feeding behavior.

Its a great example of how scientific debate can be as much concerned with the interpretation of facts as the facts themselves.

The new study found that fruit flies that consumed sucralose in their diet consumed fewer calories, then compensated by eating more after being placed on a sucralose-free diet. In other words, flies given diets with non-nutritive sweeteners are underfed, and when given normal diets are simply making up for the lack of nutrition.

The study was conducted by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and the University of Southern California. It can be found at j.mp/sucralosediet.

Fasting response

The earlier study said consuming sucralose triggers an ancient mechanism that kicks in to respond to fasting, increasing hunger. This is because the nervous system detects that sucralose is a non-nutritive sweetener, or NNS, containing no calories, unlike traditional sweeteners such as honey or cane sugar.

Researchers led by Qiao-Ping Wang and Greg Neely from the University of Sydney tested food consumption in fruit flies and mice when given food containing sucralose.

Fruit flies were given a diet with sucralose, then switched to a diet without it. Their calorie consumption increased 30 percent due to the increased hunger caused by the NNS-recalibrated system. But when the sweet-sensing system was genetically knocked out in mice, they didnt increase eating in the presence of sucralose.

Together, our data show that chronic consumption of a sweet/energy imbalanced diet triggers a conserved neuronal fasting response and increases the motivation to eat, the first study concluded.

The new study replicated the increased feeding after eliminating sucralose. However, researchers led by Jin Hong Park and William W. Ja of The Scripps Research Institute branch in Jupiter, Florida, calculated that the increased eating contributed enough calories to make up for the deficit.

The excess eating is most likely simply a response to undereating, not to the NNS sucralose activating a fasting response that increases appetite, said Gil Carvalho, a USC study coauthor.

A simpler explanation

Crucially, the original study did not analyze feeding during the sucralose exposure, Carvalho said by email. We know from experience that fruit flies are finicky and can dramatically change how much they eat depending on food composition. So this raises a critical problem. If flies change their feeding during the exposure, this could make them more or less hungry over time, which would then affect how much they eat once they're switched off of sucralose, onto regular food. This scenario would contradict the interpretations of the 2016 study.

The new study found evidence for this view by supplementing the sucralose-laced diet with sobitol, a tasteless nutrient. When the sucralose was removed, the flies ate a normal amount, possibly because sobitol eliminated the NNS diets caloric deficit.

Our results do not support a role for sucralose in directly triggering a neural state simulating fasting, the study stated. Rather, they indicate that flies limit their ingestion of sucralose at the concentration used, with the observed effects likely arising as an indirect consequence of underfeeding.

The genetic and neural mechanisms discussed in the 2016 study probably play a role in fasting, the new study said, but more research is needed to determine what that role is.

Carvalho emphasized that the original papers observations arent questioned, only its interpretation. And he suggested how further research could provide more definitive evidence one way or the other.

While the Ja piece does not prove beyond dispute that the interpretation of the 2016 study is incorrect (which may or may not be doable with additional evidence), it strongly questions it and provides a much simpler and common explanation for the observations, he wrote.

Flies do indeed overfeed after prolonged sucralose exposure, Carvalho said. But while the Neely piece proposes a neuronal effect of sucralose and sweetness/calorie imbalance, (an interesting, albeit somewhat far-fetched explanation), the Ja lab's data points to a simpler scenario: flies underfeed on sucralose-supplemented food, and subsequently overfeed on normal food out of hunger.

If this scenario turns out to be correct, the overfeeding shown by the Neely lab would not be specific to sucralose (but instead could be seen with any additive that causes underfeeding), and would not represent a novel neuronal circuit.

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020

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Diet sweetener sucralose suppresses appetite - The San Diego Union-Tribune