A healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve overall health.

A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, adequate essential amino acids from protein,[1] essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, and adequate calories. The requirements for a healthy diet can be met from a variety of plant-based and animal-based foods. A healthy diet supports energy needs and provides for human nutrition without exposure to toxicity or excessive weight gain from consuming excessive amounts. Where lack of calories is not an issue, a properly balanced diet (in addition to exercise) is also thought to be important for lowering health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cancer.[2]

Various nutrition guides are published by medical and governmental institutions to educate the public on what they should be eating to promote health. Nutrition facts labels are also mandatory in some countries to allow consumers to choose between foods based on the components relevant to health.

The idea of dietary therapy (using dietary choices to maintain health and improve poor health) is quite old and thus has both modern scientific forms (medical nutrition therapy) and prescientific forms (such as dietary therapy in traditional Chinese medicine).

The World Health Organization (WHO) makes the following 5 recommendations with respect to both populations and individuals:[3]

Other recommendations include:

The American Heart Association, World Cancer Research Fund, and American Institute for Cancer Research recommends a diet that consists mostly of unprocessed plant foods, with emphasis a wide range of whole grains, legumes, and non-starchy vegetables and fruits. This healthy diet is replete with a wide range of various non-starchy vegetables and fruits, that provide different colors including red, green, yellow, white, purple, and orange. They note that tomato cooked with oil, allium vegetables like garlic, and cruciferous vegetables like cauliflower, provide some protection against cancer. This healthy diet is low in energy density, which may protect against weight gain and associated diseases. Finally, limiting consumption of sugary drinks, limiting energy rich foods, including fast foods and red meat, and avoiding processed meats improves health and longevity. Overall, researchers and medical policy conclude that this healthy diet can reduce the risk of chronic disease and cancer.[5][6]

The Nutrition Source of Harvard School of Public Health makes the following 10 recommendations for a healthy diet:[7]

Other than nutrition, the guide recommends frequent physical exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight.[7]

In addition to dietary recommendations for the general population, there are many specific diets that have primarily been developed to promote better health in specific population groups, such as people with high blood pressure (as in low sodium diets or the more specific DASH diet), or people who are overweight or obese (in weight control diets). However, some of them may have more or less evidence for beneficial effects in normal people as well.

Continued here:
Healthy diet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

What Should I Feed my Bunny? by Dana Krempels, Ph.D.

The House Rabbit Society stresses that rabbits should live indoors, and have at least four hours of quality running/playing time per day. This, in conjunction with a proper diet, will help keep your rabbit happy, healthy and affectionate for a lifetime. Perhaps the most important items in the rabbit diet that ensure good intestinal health are (1) adequate oral hydration and (2) adequate crude long fiber, which helps push hair and food through the intestines, and keeps the intestinal muscles well toned and moving quickly. This is essential to the rabbit's maintenance of a balance flora (bacteria and yeast) in the cecum. Improper diet can quickly lead to intestinal problems, often originating with cecal dysbiosis, an imbalance of the natural "ecosystem" of the cecum.

Here are the most important items that you should be sure to include in your rabbit's diet.

Alfalfa or clover hays, although tasty for the rabbit, are too rich in protein and calcium to be fed ad libitum. Instead, offer fresh grass hays such as timothy, oat, coastal, brome, Bahia or wheat. If you can't find good quality hay locally, you may wish to mail order hay from Oxbow Hay Company or American Pet Diner. Oxbow carries the coarser "first cut" timothy hay that is higher in fiber. American Pet Diner carries both first cut and the softer, more fragrant "second cut". Second cut hay is lower in fiber, but some rabbits who refuse to eat the (putatively healthier) high-fiber first cut will often eagerly accept second cut hay. Less fiber is better than none at all!

A good quality rabbit pellet DOES NOT contain dried fruit, seeds, nuts, colored crunchy things or other things that are attractive to our human eyes, but very unhealthy to a rabbit. Rabbits are strict herbivores, and in nature they rarely get fruit, nuts or other such fatty, starchy foods. The complex flora of the cecum can quickly become dangerously imbalanced if too much simple, digestible carbohydrate is consumed--especially if the diet is generally low in fiber. The result is often "poopy butt syndrome," in which mushy fecal matter cakes onto the rabbit's behind. This a sign of cecal dysbiosis, which can foment much more serious health problems.

A good quality rabbit pellet should have at least 22% crude fiber, no more than approximately 14% protein, about 1% fat and about 1.0% calcium. Check the label on the rabbit pellets before you buy. Most commercial pellets are alfalfa-based, which means they're higher in calories and lower in fiber than timothy-based pellets.

Baby rabbits may be fed unlimited pellets, as their bones and muscles need plenty of protein and calcium for proper growth. However, the calories and nutrients of commercial pellets fed ad libitum exceeds the needs of a healthy adult rabbit, and will not only promote obesity, but discourage the rabbit from consuming enough hay to ensure good intestinal health.

The wise "bunny parent" will begin to gradually taper the quantity of pellets once the rabbit is about eight to twelve months old. and feed no more than 1/8 cup per day for every four pounds of rabbit (you can give a little bit more if the pellets are timothy-based). Some rabbit caregivers complain that their rabbits won't eat their hay. If the problem is not medical in nature (e.g., molar spurs and other dental problems are a common problem responsible for "picky eating"), then it may be that the rabbit is eating too many pellets, isn't hungry, and so doesn't eat the hay so vital to his/her health. Take the tough love approach! Cut back the pellets until you are sure your rabbit is eating enough hay.

Fresh, moist greens are about as important as hay in maintaining a healthy intestine. Try broccoli, dark leaf lettuces, kale, parsley, carrots (with tops!), endive, escarole, dill, basil, mint, cilantro, culantro, spinach, tomato, celery (cut up into 1" pieces, to avoid problems with the tough strings getting stuck on the molars!). Almost any green, leafy vegetable that's good for you (including fresh-grown garden herbs such as tarragon and various mints, with the exception of Pennyroyal) are good for a rabbit. Experiment and see which types your rabbit likes best! Rabbits love fresh, fragrant herbs fresh from the garden.

Give starchy vegetables (e.g., carrots) in moderation, and use bits of fruit only in very, very small quantities, as special treats. Too much sugar and starch can cause cecal dysbiosis, and all its associated problems.

Originally posted here:
Proper Rabbit Maintenance Diet

Our May 2015 Perfect Health Retreat has just concluded. It was a rousing success: we had a great time, the program was better than ever, and we appear to have had excellent health outcomes.

But, thanks to a busy winter, I have barely begun to blog about the October 2014 retreat. I have many testimonials to share from October. One of them came from a celebrity guest: low-carb podcaster and author Jimmy Moore.

Jimmy and I first met in person at the first PaleoFX (in 2011). There we had a long conversation about starches, and I encouraged him to try them. He seemed open to the idea and we agreed that he would do a PHD trial at some future time.

The years passed and we never did the trial, but at AHS 2014 we continued our conversation. Jimmy was more committed to a low-carb (now ketogenic) approach than ever, and I was more persuaded than ever (in part due to my friend Seth Roberts death; Ill blog about that soon) that such a diet risked an early death from cardiovascular disease. I again encouraged Jimmy to try PHD and see if he felt better on it. Jimmy said that he didnt feel he could give PHD a fair test on his own, because he didnt fully understand it.

If you meet a man dying of thirst, you have an obligation to lead him to water; even if he has an irrational aversion to water, and you know he is unlikely to drink. Still, if you refuse to show him the water, you share the guilt for his suffering. If you show him the water and he refuses to drink, his suffering is his fault alone. In the same way, I felt an obligation to show Jimmy the way to a healthier diet, even if I knew it was unlikely he would drink from that pool. We werent quite sold out, so I invited Jimmy to do the PHD experiment for one week at our retreat. Jimmy and his wife Christine accepted the invitation.

On the final day of the retreat, Jimmy generously recorded a video testimonial for us. After seeing the final edited video in January, Jimmy signed an authorization for us to use it. Here is the video:

For those who dont like to watch videos, here are some quotes:

For those who are wondering, there was no quid pro quo between us. Jimmy had no obligation to give us a testimonial, and Im grateful for his enthusiastic endorsement of the retreat.

Although they enjoyed their week at the retreat, it didnt change their minds about their own diets. Jimmy and Christine told me when they left the retreat that it was clear PHD was bringing health benefits to many people, but they themselves, and many of their readers, were different and needed a lower-carb diet to be healthy.

Their conviction that eating moderate levels of carbs would harm their health came out in a blog post Jimmy published on May 2, the first day of our May 2015 retreat. Paul Jaminets Perfect Health Retreat: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly is a discussion of my thoughts of the good, the bad, and the ugly about what this event was like for us.

Read the original here:
Perfect Health Diet - A diet for healing chronic disease ...

Welcome to Rhead Pottery a website dedicated to the prodigious work of Charlotte Rhead, her father Frederick Rhead, and some other members of their family. I have been collecting (and trading in) Charlotte Rhead items for many years now, and believe that her work is still relatively unappreciated.

This website is intended to be a resource for people interested in researching items of Rhead pottery that they already own (or wish to own), as well as providing historical information on the family themselves.

There are already one or two websites dedicated to Charlotte Rhead and her work, however I havent (yet) found one that covers her whole career, as well as that of her family, which is why I decided to start this one. Links to the other relevant sites are provided on the Further Reading page.

I shall be submitting a blog from time to time, based on my own trading experiences, sharing new finds, and looking at recent sales of Rhead items worldwide, as well as hopefully provoking discussion amongst like-minded enthusiasts.

Finally, I have some Rhead items for sale on my separate e-commercewebsite.

Feel free to get involved either bycontactingme directly, requesting a valuation, liking the site on Facebook, following me on Twitter, or commenting on theblogposts. Your photographic (or written) contributions are more than welcome!

Peter

Like Loading...

See the rest here:
Rhead Pottery - rheadpottery.com

Alkaline diet (also known as the alkaline ash diet, alkaline acid diet, acid ash diet, and the acid alkaline diet) describes a group of loosely related diets based on the belief that certain foods can affect the acidity and pH of bodily fluids, including the urine or blood, and can therefore be used to treat or prevent diseases. Due to the lack of human studies supporting any benefits of this diet, it is generally not recommended by dieticians and other health professionals.[1]

The relationship between diet and acid-base homeostasis, or the regulation of the acid-base status of the body, has been studied for decades, though the medical applications of this hypothesis have largely focused on changing the acidity of urine. Traditionally, this diet has advocated for avoiding meat, poultry, cheese, and grains in order to make the urine more alkaline (higher pH), changing the environment of the urine to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) and kidney stones (nephrolithiasis). However, difficulties in effectively predicting the effects of this diet have led to medications, rather than diet modification, as the preferred method of changing urine pH. The "acid-ash" hypothesis has been considered a risk factor for osteoporosis by various scientific publications, though more recently, the available weight of scientific evidence does not support this hypothesis.

The term "alkaline diet" has also been used by alternative medicine practitioners, with the proposal that such diets treat or prevent cancer, heart disease, low energy levels as well as other illnesses. These claims are not supported by medical evidence and make incorrect assumptions about how alkaline diets function that are contrary to modern understanding of human physiology.

According to the traditional hypothesis underlying this diet, acid ash is produced by meat, poultry, cheese, fish, eggs, and grains. Alkaline ash is produced by fruits and vegetables, except cranberries, prunes and plums. Since the acid or alkaline ash designation is based on the residue left on combustion rather than the acidity of the food, foods such as citrus fruits that are generally considered acidic are actually considered alkaline producing in this diet.[2]

It has been suggested that diets high in "acid ash" (acid producing) elements will cause the body to try to buffer (or counteract) any additional acid load in the body by breaking down bone, leading to weaker bones and increased risk for osteoporosis. Conversely, "alkaline ash" (alkaline producing) elements will hypothetically decrease the risk of osteoporosis. This hypothesis has been advanced in a position statement of the American Dietetic Association,[2] in a publication of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences,[3] as well as other scientific publications,[4] which have stated foods high in potassium and magnesium such as fruits and vegetables may decrease the risk of osteoporosis through increased alkaline ash production. This acceptance of the acid-ash hypothesis as a major modifiable risk factor of osteoporosis by these publications, however, was largely made without significant critical review by high quality systematic analysis.[5]

Recent systematic reviews have been published which have methodically analyzed the weight of available scientific evidence, and have found no significant evidence to support the acid-ash hypothesis in regards to prevention of osteoporosis. A meta-analysis of studies on the effect of dietary phosphate intake contradicted the expected results under the acid-ash hypothesis with respect to calcium in the urine and bone metabolism. This result suggests use of this diet to prevent calcium loss from bone is not justified.[5] Other meta-analyses which have investigated the effect of total dietary acid intake have also found no evidence that acid intake increases the risk for osteoporosis as would be expected under the acid-ash hypothesis.[4][6] A review looked at the effects of dairy product intake, which have been hypothesized to increase the acid load of the body through phosphate and protein components. This review found no significant evidence suggesting dairy product intake causes acidosis or increases risk for osteoporosis.[7]

It has also been speculated that this diet may have an effect on muscle wasting, growth hormone metabolism or back pain, though there is no conclusive evidence to confirm these hypotheses.[8][9][10] Given an aging population, the effects of an alkaline diet on public health may be worth considering, though there is little scientific evidence in this area.[10]

Alternative medicine practitioners who have promoted the alkaline diet have advocated its use in the treatment of various medical conditions including cancer.[11] These claims have been mainly promoted on websites, magazines, direct mail, and books, and have been mainly directed at a lay audience.[4] While it has been proposed that this diet can help increase energy, lose weight, and treat cancer and heart disease, there is no evidence to support any of these claims.[12] This version of the diet, in addition to avoiding meats and other proteins, also advocates avoiding processed foods, white sugar, white flour, and caffeine,[9] and can involve specific exercise and nutritional supplement regimens as well.[13]

Advocates for alternative uses of an alkaline diet propose that since the normal pH of the blood is slightly alkaline, the goal of diet should be to mirror this by eating a diet that is alkaline producing as well. These advocates propose that diets high in acid-producing elements will generally lead the body to become acidic, which can foster disease.[9][12] This proposed mechanism, in which the diet can significantly change the acidity of the blood, goes against "everything we know about the chemistry of the human body" and has been called a "myth" in a statement by the American Institute for Cancer Research.[14] Unlike the pH level in the urine, a selectively alkaline diet has not been shown to elicit a sustained change in blood pH levels, nor to provide the clinical benefits claimed by its proponents. Because of the body's natural regulatory mechanisms, which do not require a special diet to work, eating an alkaline diet just can, at most, change the blood pH minimally and transiently.[1][9][12][14]

A similar proposal by those advocating this diet suggests that cancer grows in an acidic environment, and that a proper alkaline diet can change the environment of the body to treat cancer. This proposal ignores the fact that while cancer tissue does grow in acidic environment, it is the cancer that creates the acidity. The rapid growth of cancer cells creates the acidic environment; the acidic environment does not create cancer.[11] The proposal also neglects to recognize that it is "virtually impossible" to create a less acidic environment in the body.[14] "Extreme" dietary plans such as this diet have more risks than benefits for patients with cancer.[11]

Continue reading here:
Alkaline diet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Welcome! If you want to lose weight, gain muscle, increase energy levels or just generally look and feel healthier you've come to the right place.

Here's where to start:

Thanks for visiting!

A couple weeks back, I wrote about the top 8 most common reactions you get when people hear you dont eat grains, and I offered up some concise responses to those reactions. It was well received, so I thought Id do the same thing for your high-fat diet. If you thought having to explain your grain-free diet was tough, explaining a high-fat diet in particular, a high-animal fat diet may seem even harder. At least with a grain-free diet, youre merely removing something that many hold near and dear to their hearts. Its healthy and delicious, sure, but at least youre not adding something that will actively kill you. Fat is that deadly thing, for many people. Its fat, for crying out loud. Its bad for you, practically a poison. Everyone knows it. I mean, have you seen what fat down the kitchen drain does to your plumbing?

Actually, like the grain-free diet, explaining the high-fat diet is not that hard. Ill even promise you that there are ways to do it, explanations and answers that dont make you seem like a crazy person who hates his heart (I make no such promises for those of you with a stick of butter with bite marks and a tub of coconut oil with a greasy spoon beside it on your office desk, however). Now lets get right to their questions and responses you can use:

Isnt all that fat gonna glom onto your arteries?

That isnt how it works. Atherosclerosis is caused by oxidized LDL particles penetrating the arterial wall, inciting inflammation, and damaging the arterial tissue. It is not caused by fat mechanistically attaching itself to the surface of the arteries like fat in a kitchen pipe. Also, its not like you eat some butter and that butter gets directed straight into your bloodstream. Your blood doesnt have oil slicks running through it, or congealed droplets of grease gumming up the passageways. You are the product of millions upon millions of years of evolution, and I think our bodies can do better than trying to ape modern plumbing.

Response: My arteries are not pipes. Fat is not solidifying in my blood like it can in the plumbing. Atherosclerosis is a complex process with dozens of factors beyond whats in your diet, let alone the fat content.

Isnt all that cholesterol gonna raise your cholesterol?

If I were a rabbit, sure. When you feed cholesterol to an herbivorous animal, like a rabbit, whose only encounters with dietary cholesterol occur in a lab setting, their blood lipids will increase and they will usually develop atherosclerosis. For many years, the cholesterol-fed rabbit was a popular model for studying heart disease and gave rise to the now-popular idea that dietary cholesterol also elevates blood lipids in humans (thus immediately condemning them to a heart attack, naturally). Except it isnt the case. Save for a select few who are hyper-responders, the vast majority of people can eat cholesterol without it affecting their cholesterol levels. And even when dietary cholesterol affects blood lipids, its usually an improvement, increasing HDL and the HDL:TC ratio while leaving LDL mostly unchanged.As for where all that blood cholesterol comes from, we make pretty much all the cholesterol in our blood in-house, and dietary cholesterol tends to suppress endogenous cholesterol synthesis. Boy, between staying local and only making as much as we need, our livers are downright green. I bet our HDL is GMO-free and organic to boot (not so sure about those sneaky LDL particles, though).

Continue reading here:
Why A High-Fat Diet is Healthy and Safe | Mark's Daily Apple