Now before you start forming opinions, let me get to explaining. As a dietitian, Ive never been keen on advising clients to follow quick weight loss solutions. Ive never been a fan of detoxing, cleansing, fasting or even diets such as Atkins and Paleo. With the aforementioned, youll achieve results but its temporary and when life gets in the way (travel, social obligations, family life), you tend to veer away from consistency. While that may not be your choice, thats just how things work.

Since I started pursuing nutrition (over 8 years ago), Ive been focused on helping my husband find a healthy lifestyle one that particularly works for him. I introduced him to the concept of breakfast because he would wait until 10 or 11am to eat his first meal, scarf it down and then complain of acidity soon after. I encouraged him to avoid egg yolk because of his susceptibility to familial high cholesterol. I suggested he use a reusable water bottle to focus on adequate hydration. Sure, these tips are simple. I also recommended to follow a dietary pattern of eating smaller, more frequent meals daily. So instead of 3 large meals, why not focus on breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and then dinner. This way you eat small portions and encourage variety in consumption.

What weve come to realize over the years is that the smaller, frequent meals really doesnt work for his type. What is his type? His type is a super busy, global friendly, start-up entrepreneur. The type that travels often. The type that has to meet people for dinners. The type that speaks on panels. The type that sits in transit for long periods. The type that sleeps late. The type that gains weight with stress especially in the midsection. With all these variables, it becomes an obstacle to eat healthy and regimented especially to follow the smaller, more frequent meals. We had to find a better solution and fast.

As a result, I was introduced to Intermittent Fasting. I was not able to find a significant amount of evidence based research but after a couple weeks, I came across Professor Mark Mattson. His research demonstrated a connection between caloric intake and weight loss as well as caloric intake and brain function. He explains, Every time you eat, glucose is stored in your liver as glycogen, which takes about 10 to 12 hours to be depleted. After the glycogen is used up, your body starts burning fats, which are converted to ketone bodies, acidic chemicals used by neurons as energy. Ketones promote positive changes in the structure of synapses important for learning, memory, and overall brain health. If you eat three meals a day with snacks between, your body doesnt have the chance to deplete the glycogen stores in your liver, and the ketones arent produced. (Similarly, exercise also produces a similar effect on brain health.)

To date, there have been two types of fasting patterns that have been explored. One is the 5:2 (five days of normal caloric consumption i.e. 2000 for women, 2500 for men and 2 days of 500 calories per day) and one that follows a time-restricted diet which follows a fasting time and a feasting time. Feasting time is usually a window of 8 hours so your body has time to exhaust its supply of glycogen, start burning fat, and produce ketones.

To understand if this dietary pattern could work for you, here are some points to consider:

If you have answered yes to at least three if not all of the questions, it could be worth considering Intermittent Fasting. Whats interesting to note is that through this process, you begin to understand how your body operates and assess hunger cues.

When implementing, its important to pay attention to the following:

Remember, just because you fast for 16 hours doesnt mean that the feasting window is a literal translation to feasting. It means that you are eating in an 8 hour window but you want to consume wholesome, nutritious food. Food that does good for your body. The same goes for if you decide to try the 5:2 pattern dont overeat on the 5 days because youre restricting for 2 days, but instead, be mindful. Your ultimate goal is a healthier lifestyle by lowering body fat and overall weight in a consistent way. Even Laurie Woolever, Food and Wine magazine contributor, recaps her attempt at intermittent fasting.

As Professor Mattson says, I hope its not a fad. Theres a lot of science behind it, and the science is only increasing.

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The CEO's Diet: Could Intermittent Fasting Work? - Huffington Post

Explaining how the diet works, Robert Brennan, fitness, lifestyle and nutrition consultant, said: "The 5:2 diet is simply eating what you would normally for five days of the week; and then restricting calorie intake on two days; 500 for women and 600 for men.

It is best not to count calories at all on the five non-fasting days and whilst it is not a requirement of the diet, I have found far greater results when clients, as well as observing the fast days, eat a generally healthy diet, free from processed foods and rich in vegetables and protein with plenty of water.

I wouldnt call this a diet but rather an eating pattern, as it doesnt prescribe what foods to eat.

"It is also quite likely that throughout human evolution there would have been a considerable element of intermittent fasting occurring through the simple fact that food was not always readily available.

It is likely that, at first, blood sugars will get somewhat low on fast days. This can lead to feeling grumpy, short tempered, dizzy or even anxious if you are more prone to it

Robert Brennan

Many people do the 5:2 approach who do not need to lose weight, as it has many hormonal and cognitive benefits too, making it a simple way to maintain good health of body and mind as well as to achieve weight loss if required.

Despite thinking it is a good diet plan, Robert did admit there were some drawbacks.

He said: "There are a few important things to look out for with any intermittent fasting, and it is important to listen to your body with regard to these.

"It is likely that, at first, blood sugars will get somewhat low on fast days. This can lead to feeling grumpy, short tempered, dizzy or even anxious if you are more prone to it.

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Paleo, Durkin & Atkins, the most popular diets explained

"These side effects will lessen as your body adapts to the new eating pattern, but it is wise to have a small snack such as a date or a few raisins to pick up your blood sugars quickly if you need to.

"Some people have found it difficult to sleep on the fast days due to hunger, so it may be advisable to ensure that more of the calories are consumed later on in the day to avoid this."

Robert also cautioned the diet is not suitable for pregnant women, type 1 diabetics or elderly adults with health complications.

But the diet is popular with middle aged people who worry that their metabolism has slowed down with age.

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Robert clarified: "Its a common misconception that peoples metabolisms slow down as they age, which causes them to put on weight. It is much more likely that as people age, any weight gain is due to the body becoming more insulin resistant over time, which for the reason outlined above, may ultimately lead to diabetes and weight gain.

"Fasting is therefore relevant for people as they age, as it can be a very simple way, alongside regular exercise and other heathy lifestyle factors, to keep insulin sensitivity higher for longer and maintain a healthy, lean body.

"Unless there is a medical reason not to, people can successfully adopt the intermittent fasting approach at any age, albeit with a little more caution than someone in their 20s or 30s. Many elderly people have reported great success on this approach to eating."

In fact correcting insulin sensitivity is the primary benefit in Robert's opinion, and he explained: "The primary physiological benefit is increased insulin sensitivity, giving rise to reduced insulin levels on a daily basis and reduced average blood glucose levels.

"In simple terms, overeating (especially carbohydrates) causes blood insulin levels to increase to restore the blood glucose level to normal. Repeated overeating leads to continually elevated insulin levels and cells become less sensitive to insulin.

"This means even more insulin in needed to remove glucose from the blood, and can ultimately lead to Type 2 Diabetes. Insulin is an anabolic hormone (body building), so its continual elevated presence leads to body fat gain."

To find out more about Roberts services, go to http://www.robert-brennan.com.

The advice about the 5:2 diet comes after controversial weight loss guru Steve Miller spoke out about the obesity epidemic.

Read more:
Does the 5:2 diet REALLY work? Nutritionist reveals what you need to know about the plan - Express.co.uk

A month ago, five Washington Post staffers embarked on a 30-day diet, each looking for a way to reset their eating habits.

Now, theyre turning the page, but this is much more than a tidy endpoint: Its the beginning of making their new, healthy habits stick.

This monthlong challenge wasnt a contest per se, and there is no one winner; all the staffers made their chosen plans work for them, and each has good results to show for it. Collectively theyve freed themselves from unhealthy habits and adopted positive ones; they have been enjoying more nutritious foods and less hyper-processed, sugary stuff; they have been eating more sensible amounts more mindfully; and they feel better and have lost weight.

But, predictably, life also got in the way of some of the goals they set with house moves, IRS audits, traffic jams, travel and irresistible parties interfering with their best intentions.

I spoke with each of them to get their main take-aways from this diet experiment, and help them strategize all-important next steps. I also managed to convince them to let me check in with them next January to see how they have fared a year later.

If you started a diet on Jan. 1 like they did, or otherwise made resolutions to live healthier, this is an invitation to pause, reflect on your successes and, perhaps, dreams dashed over the past month and recalibrate your plan so you can keep moving forward.

Hopefully, the insights shared here will inspire and inform your own next steps.

Kendra Nichols: The Whole30

Kendras wise words to those thinking about the Whole30 diet is to be smart about planning when to start. For her, this challenge was smack in the middle of a move, making it more stressful and difficult than it otherwise would have been. Being between homes and unable to locate the right cookware amid all the boxes, she found it nearly impossible to achieve one of her main personal goals: trying an array of new recipes. She also told me she was crankier than usual, to the point where her co-workers dubbed her diet persona Whole30 Kendra. But she admirably stuck it out, and lost 9 pounds in the process. Along the way she learned, among other things, that it suits her to eat a hearty breakfast so she isnt hungry again until lunchtime, and that she can live happily without a vending-machine sugar fix or the 20-ounce diet soda she had been drinking daily.

Kendra has done Whole30 before, and does well with a strict set of rules to follow. The downside has been that when the diet is over, she is left rudderless and winds up returning to her old habits. Last time she did Whole30 she skipped the reintroduction phase (in which you gradually add back the forbidden foods) and went straight to cake. This time she is thinking more long-term.

Shes going to view the suggested reintroduction as an extension of the rules, following the specific 10-day transition the book offers. Even more, Im going to make myself a little rule book to follow thereafter.

This personal, formalized structure will go a long way toward helping Kendra achieve what she called her ultimate goal: making moderation the new normal.

Tom Sietsema: Weight Watchers

Tom sees food through a somewhat different lens after following the Weight Watchers program for the past month.

The plan makes you aware of the consequences of different choices, he says.

Having been allotted 36 points a day, Tom quickly learned that some foods, like what became his go-to snack, almonds and clementines, offer more satisfaction for fewer points than, say, peanut butter-filled pretzels. And that sometimes you have to choose between a cupcake and a second glass of wine.

While he wont continue to track his points, he says, Doing it a full month, it gets drilled into you ... Now I know what to do.

Besides making smarter choices, he also knows that exercise is a key component, and he is committed to keeping it up regularly.

He also knows its OK to go off the rails a bit once in a while. Confronted with some fabulous restaurant meals (as he frequently will be as the Posts food critic) and a once-in-a-lifetime charity event, he indulged, but even did that mindfully, choosing oysters instead of prosciutto and staying conscientious about portions.

In alignment with the Weight Watchers philosophy, he says: You can splurge just get back on track right after. Enjoy it, mindfully, then forget about it. Dont feel guilty.

Sure, Tom could have lost even more than seven pounds this month without those splurges, but I believe the experience of being able to get back on track, and the knowledge that you can continue toward your goal weight and indulge, is an even more valuable achievement in the long run.

Joe Yonan: Buddhas Diet

Joe is the only one of the five who plans to continue his diet indefinitely, a testament both to the flexibility of Buddhas Diet with its only limitation a nine-hour time window for eating and Joes balanced approach to it. I worried he would be weak from hunger at his morning workout (so he could eat a later dinner) or eat a 5 p.m. dinner alone at his desk rather than with his significant other, or get pulled over for speeding and try to explain to the officer that he had to rush home to eat on time. But although Joe did skip eating before his workouts, he felt fine doing it, and although he had to pass on grabbing a late bowl of ramen with friends one night, he found it easy enough to plan ahead so as not to sacrifice the social pleasures of mealtime. His sage advice: The overarching philosophy is to have a mindful relationship with food, so dont get too anxious about a few minutes here or there. The worst thing would be to let the deadline make you scarf your food down.

In the past 30 days, he has broken the habit of mindlessly munching after dinner, has realized he doesnt have to grab for food at the slightest twinge of hunger and has lost five pounds.

I couldnt have done this without tea, he says. Tea helped slow his pace and calm him as he sipped, and because it is allowed outside the nine-hour window as long as it doesnt have sweeteners or milk.

Another key strategy was preparing food ahead, stocking his refrigerator on the weekends with building-block ingredients such as blanched and roasted vegetables, so he could quickly pull meals together on the weekdays.

Once Joe reaches his goal weight (he has another 25 or so pounds to go), his maintenance plan is to add a second cheat day.

From what I can tell, Joe has landed on a sustainable way of life that fits him perfectly.

Bonnie S. Benwick: SouperGirl Cleanse

Bonnie is officially sold on soup. The words soup diet sound a little crazy, she says, but its a food that everyone should eat every week its a good go-to.

This month has helped Bonnie reach her main goals of eating more vegetables and getting portions in check.

At first she worried the soups wouldnt be enough, but found the opposite to be true. (The volume of vegetable-based soups and the fact that their heat slows you down make them especially filling.) The big takeaway is her realization that she can be satisfied without overeating, and she now is more in touch with how food makes her feel. She also has stopped eating past 9 p.m.

Her long-range plan is to make soup every week so she always has it on hand.

She is also going to pay attention to how she feels as she eats, savoring slowly, and tuning into her level of satiety rather than continuing to eat just because her mouth wants more food.

Bonnie wasnt weighing herself this month, but she recently bought a scale so she can track her weight as an incentive and an indicator and if she gets off track, she will do another week of the SouperGirl Cleanse to reorient her. She also has an exciting event to inspire her to maintain these healthy changes: her sons wedding in October.

Adam Kilgore: Offseason reset

The notion that you can slip up and then move on gives Adams plan the potential for longevity. He did that a few times this month, with restaurant meals and vacations that drove him off-plan. But his core changes focusing on healthful whole foods, limiting alcohol and exercising more still led the way, and he has dropped 16 pounds as a result. His positive attitude of embracing the good choices you are making rather than yearning for what you are missing also goes a long way toward his success.

Adam told me that the realization that it doesnt have to be all or nothing that he can see results even if he dips off his plan here and there gives him a good template for how to keep this going after April, when he typically returns to his weight-gaining spiral. I pressed him to come up with specific strategies to put into place at that time, and he outlined this sensible three-pronged approach: 1) weigh in at least once a week; 2) exercise at least twice a week; 3) avoid alcohol for at least two days a week.

Adams overall advice to those embarking on a healthier way of life is simple but profound.

Its something we could all make our mantra year-round: Whatever choice you are making, make it a good choice. Then do it again.

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The 5 Diets Project: Everyone lost, and everyone gained - Greensboro News & Record

As I trust most of you know, My Cousin Vinny is a terrific movie.If you havent seen it, I certainly recommend it.The characters are indelible; the dialogue is terrific; the courtroom tension and the comedic absurdity, both dosed perfectly; and in the end, the good guyswell, I dont want to spoil it.

For todays purposes, my interest is limited to this scene that takes place in a jail cell, as Vinny explains to his cousin/client, the defendant, how compelling the prosecution case can seem and yet be wrong.Of course, they both know the prosecution is wrong- as does the audience- because the defendant is innocent.

I thought of this not long after seeing a video of a recent talk at the Zurich Heart House, sent to me by a colleague, in which a prominent cardiology researcher- known mostly for studies of pharmacotherapy- contends that meat is protective against heart disease, fish is neutral, and vegetables useless.You can look into the researchers platform here, but I cant seem to share the YouTube video.It is no longer accessible, which seems to suggest that somebody other than me found more than a bit amiss with it.

Before debunking this obvious nonsense, lets revisit with Vinny.The prosecution in that trial was wrong, but not unreasonable; incorrect, but not insincere.I am inclined to say the same of Dr. Yusuf, whose overall body of work I very much appreciate.However, in the no-longer-accessible-video, he starts out by noting that he is not expert in nutrition.Thats an odd beginning for a rant against just about every contention predicated on the weight of scientific evidence, and common sense in that very field.It would be as if the attorneys opposing Vinny started out declaring no actual expertise in criminal law.

But leaving out the oddity of self-disqualification, Dr. Yusufs argument that carbohydrate causes heart disease, fat is protective, vegetables are of no help, fish is neutral, and meat is beneficial - is very much like the prosecution case as Vinny characterizes it.Convincing, through legerdemain- but unequivocally wrong.

The irony is that Dr. Yusufs own published work, and his own published assertions about trial design, contribute mightily to the rebuttal.

The study discussed at the Zurich Heart House by Dr. Yusuf last week- the INTERHEART Study- does, indeed, involve some 150,000 people from 17 countries.But, it is a case-control study.

I suspect most people celebrating the talks invitation to consume more pepperoni dont know what that implies, but as someone who has authored textbooks on the matter, I do.This is one of the weakest forms of epidemiologic research, prone to many interpretation errors, subject to many forms of bias, useful for generating but not testing hypotheses, and utterly useless for establishing cause-and-effect.This is fact, acknowledged by all who are trained in epidemiology.More interesting, it is a position Dr. Yusuf has himself advanced, arguing the need for large, simple randomized trials to avoid just such pitfalls.

Of course, there are large, randomized trials showing what dietary patterns defend against heart disease and death- again and again- and they refute the position taken by Dr. Yusuf in his very odd, recent talk.Predictably, perhaps, he made no mention of them.

But that is far from the most damning argument in Dr. Yusufs own body of work against the errant conclusions in the Zurich talk.Consider, for instance, this paper of his about the INTERHEART Study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2014.The abstract states the case in language perfectly clear to scientist and non-scientist alike: cardiac risk factors were more abundant in affluent countries, but cardiac events and death were more common in poor countries.Dr. Yusuf even tells us why that is likely to be the case: better, more routine pharmacotherapy (the main focus of his career), and revascularization (angioplasty and coronary bypass), in the affluent countries.

The logical fallacy in Dr. Yusufs recent conclusions- among them, that meat is protective against heart disease and vegetables are not- is not only flagrant, but flawed at a level that would earn demerits in epidemiology 101.I say this reluctantly, and with genuine surprise that a scholar would so misconstrue even his own work, which has shown just the opposite about both heart disease, and stroke.

Poor countries traditionally eat little meat, and have a very high intake of carbohydrate.In some cases, they have a high intake of fat, too, but from plant sources rather than animal; this is true, for instance, in rural Greece and other Mediterranean populations.In almost no instance do they have a high intake of saturated fat.We know, because its on prominent display, that when countries with traditionally high-plant, high-carbohydrate, low-saturated-fat and low animal food diets switch to the more affluent pattern of eating more meat, their rates of obesity and chronic disease rise.This is perfectly clear in both India and China.In this matter, too, Dr. Yusufs own prolific work inveighs against his recent ruminations.

True poverty has its own serious drawbacks, of course, from general deprivation and stress, to prevalent substance abuse, nutrient deficiencies, and poor medical care.The main reason people do or dont develop coronary arteries plugged up with plaque happens mostly at home, and is all about lifestyle; but the main reason they do or don't have a MI or die of one happens mostly in hospitals, and is all about modern medical care.The very weak, case-control data recently tortured by Dr. Yusuf almost certainly mean that rates of death from heart disease are lower where meat intake is higher because those are the very places where more affluent populations get state-of-the-art cardiac care.

Or, if you prefer the sound bite version: eat your fatty meat, skip the vegetables, and you can stick around anyway thanks not to good health, but the technical skills of your cardiothoracic surgeon.

To see the truth about the prosecutions case, Vinny says you must turn it around, and look at it another way; he compares the geometry of a card to a brick to make his case.If we apply that basic logic here, we might ask: well, what happens within a given population, where access to medical care is the same, when diet is changed?We have the answer.Randomized trials including the Lyons Diet Heart Study, Predimed, and others have shown, over a span of years and in multiple countries, that shifts to more plant foods, unsaturated oils, and less meat reduce heart disease, other chronic disease, and rates of premature death from all causes.

In My Cousin Vinny, the prosecution was not insincere- but they were most assuredly incorrect.Just like them, Dr. Yusuf may have shown views of an argument that looked convincing to the gullible, but that prove to be nothing more than a house of cards.

Senior Medical Advisor, Verywell.com

See the rest here:
My Cousin Vinny's Diet - Huffington Post

A study published by the Korean society of Clinical nutrition, has discussed the findings of an experiment done at a Korean Middle school. In this experiment, 40 subjects (26 students and14 teachers) switched from their normal diets to a vegetarian diet, for a period of 12 weeks. Participants had to answer a questionnaire and do a blood analysis before and after the experiment

After 12 weeks on a completely vegetarian these were results:

1) BMI (body mass index) was reduced. So all participants lost weight 2) TC (Total colestherol ) was reduced in both groups 3) LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholestherol ) or bad cholesterol were reduced 4) Serum calcium and Vitamin B12 was increased in the students and teachers 5) Teachers reported to be less stressed 6) The number of participants facing functional constipation decreased

These results are just a confirmation of a previous study that proved, through a randomized controlled trial of 41 subjects, that increasing the intake of whole grains, fruits and vegetables have an the anti-oxidative effect on the body, which is promoted by a large amount of vitamins that protect cells from the oxidation-induced damage. So, a more vegetarian focused diet may also work as a preventative measure and treatment of various chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, constipation, and cancer.

The International Journal of Medical Sciences has published review-summary of two in vitro studies performed on the anti- colorectal cancer properties of flavonoids, the polyphenolic compounds found in various fruits and vegetables known to possess antioxidant activities. The most common foods flavonoids are found in are: grapefruits, oranges, tomatoes, blueberries, almonds, pears, strawberries, watermelon and others

In what way do Flavonoids work in the body ?

1) Interfere in the pathway of the most important signaling pathways involved in the diagnosis of colon rectal cancer. 2) Affect one or more of these pathways, resulting in the inhibition of CRC.

In yet another study it was reported Vegetarian and vegan diets increase beneficial plant foods and plant constituents, eliminate the intake of red and processed meat, and aid in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. The direct and indirect evidence taken together suggests that vegetarian diets are a useful strategy for reducing risk of cancer.

According to Colorectal Cancer statistics, this type of cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. So, researches that involve no invasive ways to treat and prevent millions of people developing cancer and other chronic illnesses related to diet are extremely important

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12 weeks in a vegetarian diet improves bowel habits, reduces stress and increases nutritional status - eMaxHealth

A 5-day fasting diet can safely reduce the risk of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and several other health conditions, says a study published in Science Translational Medicine.

A group of 100 adults enlisted their participation for the study: they were divided into two groups, one having to adhere to a special, low-calorie diet that is tantamount to fasting, and the other acting as the control, sticking to their normal eating habits for a period of 3 months. The two batches were compared by a team of researchers from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

The effects of this regimen were analysed, and the findings show a decrease in cardiovascular risk factors pertaining to blood pressure, inflammation, fasting glucose level, and levels of a hormone known as IGF-1 which affects metabolism. The fasting-mimicking diet also appears to have contributed to weight loss caused by a reduction in total body fat and trunk fat, and not in muscle mass. The risks of heart disease, diabetes, and heart disease, as well as of other age-related diseases appear to have, thus, been lowered through this diet.

The special diet, lasting for 5 days every month, was composed of food items provided by nutrition company L-Nutra. It was meant to mimic water-only fasts, and limited daily calorie intake between 750 and 1,100. The proportions of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates were precisely defined. After the three-month period, the control group switched to the special diet as well.

The researchers observed that those initially on the fasting-mimicking diet (the first group) lost around 3 kilograms, and their waistlines decreased by 2 to 5 centimetres. Their systolic blood pressure, which was within the normal range at the start of the experiment, decreased by 4.5 mmHG, while their diastolic BP dropped by 3.1 mmHg. Their IGF-1 levels went down to a range associated with a lower risk of developing cancer (21.7 ng/mL 46.2 ng/mL).

Furthermore, participants of the second group showed similar effects when they were moved to the fasting diet. These effects also did not vanish when the participants went back to their normal routine.

The researchers say that the apparent benefits of this diet were more pronounced for those who were already at risk of the diseases.

Fasting seems to be the most beneficial for patients who have the great risk factors for disease, such as those who have high blood pressure or pre-diabetes or who are obese, explains researcher Valter Longo.

While the study demonstrates that the diet in question is both effective and safe for humans, Longo adds that more studies have to be conducted, on a larger scale, to confirm the results of this study.

Read more here:
5-Day Fasting Diet Lowers Risks of Heart Disease, Cancer, & Diabetes - Island Crisis News