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Fasting for weight loss: Know the pros and cons – The Shillong Times

Posted: March 30, 2020 at 9:43 pm

Across India, fasting isgenerally linkedwith religious beliefs, and people fast before or during traditional rituals. On the other hand, fasting also has many health benefits and some of its pitfalls.Many times, people ignore their bodily conditions and choose to fast.For instance, women who are breastfeeding or are pregnant must not fast.Also, people with Type 1 Diabetes who are on medication and people who have had a history with an eating disorder should consult a health specialist before altering a dietary pattern.Fast can be done in various patterns: the 16:8 pattern involves 14 to 16 hours of fasting and eating between the 8 hours.Another fasting method is 5:2, that is fasting for alternate two days in a week.There are various types of fasting methods that you can follow considering your health condition, as says Shikha Mahajan, holistic nutritionist and founder of Diet Podium:Intermittent FastingIntermittent fasting or IF includes reducing calorie intake for an interval of time so that the person fasts for the other hours.This kind of fasting allows restricting the calorie intake and results in weight loss. Time-Restricted Fasting is also similar to IF.Water FastingWater fasting is a way of fasting where the individual only takes water and the intake of food is restricted for a duration of time.This kind of fasting should only be preferred under medical supervision. Sometimes doctors prescribe this kind of fasting to cure various health issues.There is a major drawback of this fasting. Since it is very difficult for a body to survive only on water. Therefore, it can cause many adverse effects on the body.Fasting Mimicking DietThis is the diet that tricks the body to think it is fasting.The individual is allowed to eat but only the diet which includes plant-based food, low in carbs and calories, and high in fat.Here are some prosof fasting.Fasting helps to boost immunity. It naturally increases energy and will help you to feel more alert and focused throughout the day.It helps you attain a leaner, harder physique as fasting kills body fat dead.There are cons of fasting too. The desire to binge after fasting is the biggest problem people face with fasting.Sometimes people tend to overeat during the non-fasting duration.This can lead to health issues like hormonal imbalances, increase in stress and migraines.Occasional lightheadedness is the major problem faced during fasting, To negate this con, you can start with shorter fasting periods first. Always remember fasting or changing your dietary pattern can make a big change to your body functioning, its metabolism and psyche.Before opting for any kind of fast, consult a health expert and consider your health background. (IANS)

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Fasting for weight loss: Know the pros and cons - The Shillong Times

Healthy and effective: weight loss with intermittent fasting: a question of timing – The KXAN 36 News

Posted: March 30, 2020 at 9:43 pm

It acts as a true miracle pill! One speaks of fasting with Dr. Petra Bracht over the Interval, then it comes very quickly to these superlative.

The a physician Nutrition specialist and author from Bad Homburg in Germany is certainly one of the pioneers of the diet method eating Pause, and she practiced the method since the end of the 1980s, out of Conviction.

fasting is the Trend, according to a Forsa-survey on behalf of the DAK 63 percent of Germans are in favour of for themselves to reduce, at least temporarily, the diet, or change, or by 20 percent more than almost ten years ago.

Particular interval of fasting, even intermittent fasting is becoming more and more popular. Because in addition to the weight loss of this method can be attributed to many health effects.

However, Only little of it is scientifically proven as yet, clearly. Although there are a number of animal experiments in rats and monkeys, the fasting, an effect of Interval around the cells health and life expectancy show yet so simple to humans, such results can not be transferred.

As healthy interval fasting

A study from Graz, with 100 participants may bring with it the discussion now, because it shows that, Already after four weeks of positive effects in humans on the health evidence.

And even after six months were no negative (side) effects detected. The researchers from the Institute for Molecular Biosciences to a rather rare variant of the interval fasting: 36:12. This is about the perfect fast formula?

a Brief explanation: When intermittent fasting, you eat during a fixed period of time, as usual, ends, without changing the amount and type of food followed by a Phase in which no or only very reduced calories, are allowed in the amounts as follows.

The best known is the Schema 16:8 is: Of the 24 hours of each day is an eight hour period for eating is reserved, followed by 16 hours in which the body gets no food.

Who eats Breakfast so, for example, 9 oclock, may eat as usual for lunch and must have finished his evening meal till 17 oclock then just calories, are allowed free drinks, more water, tea, coffee in moderation is said necessarily recommended.

The 5:2 principle, the Plan runs not hours, but days of operation: five days you can eat as usual, two days are almost time.

At this, the calorie intake is limited to around 500 calories for women and 700 for men. This is no more than a small meal. The Graz researchers chose for their study a middle ground, the Alternate Day Fasting or 36:12.

Visible results after four weeks of

Of the 100 subjects, half was allowed to eat for six months, so only every second day. Together with the night before and after the day of fasting that results in a rhythm of 12 to 36 hours.

The other 50 participants ate, as always, however, the researchers selected the biochemist Frank Madeo after some time, 25 from this group at random, the four weeks to the 36:12-almost rhythm changed. So they wanted to explore the short-term effects.

Countless data from body fat to blood pressure, bone density to the insulin value, the Grazer documented. And were amazed: after only four weeks of fasting, the participants had reduced their weight by 4.5 percent, and effective belly fat lost.

This visceral fat around the internal organs is considered to be particularly harmful. The cholesterol level decreased, also the amount of proteins in the body that make the researchers of ageing processes responsible.

More muscles despite the absence of

And thats just a few of the results of the investigation. You confirm what has been observed by Dr. Petra Bracht also in their work with patients virtually: I have been practicing interval fasting for more than 30 years. I havent started, there was the concept yet.

From the American natural healing scene is the Knowledge that it is much better not to eat so often came, and to process, especially that it gives the body time for the food alone. This seemed to me to be very logical, and I have tried it myself to a time when there were six to eight small meals are recommended the day.

One of the most exciting effects that you get when you fast found and also the Graz study confirmed the Autophagy: in the past, it was thought that fasting would consume proteins and thus the breakdown of muscle to carry. But that is not true.

In the Autophagy-mode, the body is already consumed proteins, splits it into individual amino acids and gives the body back. Therefore, we observe that people who are fasting, and this move can build muscle mass. Our body uses old protein, new muscles and also to make antibodies, explains the expert.

feelings of happiness during the interval fasting

In women, the time of the Autophagy begins after 13 to 14 hours of fasting, men and a good hour later, adds Dr. Bracht.

thats Why men in particular of a longer fast would benefit interval. I recommend to men to be fasting, therefore, more like 18 hours, the Doctor says, the eating itself usually only in a time window of two to four hours of the day.

Still another effect is seen in practice as well as in the experiment: During the interval fasting of the body between the carbohydrate processing in the food phases and fat burning, known as ketosis goes, in the fast breaks.

Both alternates, what the cells need. Anything else would be harmful, says Dr. Bracht.

The ketone bodies in the fasting phase by means of an increase the production of the appropriate hormones for the mood of the people is stimulated. And this feeling makes us the hunger the hours easier to bear.

the Graz study showed this mood. Also, the hormone boost also acts as an anti-inflammatory with a variety of positive effects on health.

Even small steps will help

the question of the ideal almost Remains the interval. Im a Fan of 16:8. All other methods do not have this waiver in-character, which is why many people keep on that, says Dr done.

And warns of excessive goals: Its not about all or nothing. Basically, every day I intervallfaste is a Plus for the health.

sources

Peter Schmidt-Feneberg

*The post Healthy and effective: weight loss with intermittent fasting: All is a question of timing, published by FitForFun. Contact with the executives here.

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Healthy and effective: weight loss with intermittent fasting: a question of timing - The KXAN 36 News

In Iraq, Restraint Is America’s Best Option – War on the Rocks

Posted: March 30, 2020 at 9:42 pm

Maximum pressure on Iran is working, the Trump administration insists, as the United States applies concerted diplomatic, economic, and military pressure to constrain Iran and its allies across the Middle East. In Iraq, however, Americas confrontational posture is diminishing U.S. influence, and empowering Iran and its Iraqi allies.

After this months round of deadly rocket attacks on foreign forces in Iraq and retaliatory U.S. airstrikes, the United States is now locked firmly into a tit-for-tat cycle of violence with Iraqi paramilitaries linked to Iran. If this cycle continues or escalates, amid reports that the Pentagon has drawn up plans for a military campaign to destroy one paramilitary faction it will end disastrously for both the United States and Iraq.

Iraq is facing an unprecedented crisis, as the spread of coronavirus and the collapse of global oil prices gravely threaten its economy and the states ability to provide for ordinary Iraqis. The country does not need, on top of this, the United States bombing Iraqi paramilitaries, which polarizes Iraqi politics between pro- and anti-American camps and helps frustrate efforts to name a new government that could confront the countrys dire circumstances. Further unilateral U.S. action will only amplify voices in Iraqi politics who argue that the Americans have to go, now. Irans Iraqi allies will consolidate their influence in the countrys politics, as paramilitaries continue their attacks on U.S. forces maybe to the point of forcing the United States out of Iraq.

If the United States wants to preserve the U.S.-Iraqi relationship or stay in Iraq to help combat the so-called Islamic States (ISIL) persistent insurgency, it will have to break this retaliatory cycle but not by counter-escalating against Iraqi paramilitaries. There is a better way for the United States, albeit one with its own risks: restraint. If the United States can hold itself back, a pause in this cycle could create the conditions for Iraqis to form a new government capable of partnering with Washington and negotiating a new, legitimating framework for U.S. and coalition troops to remain. That could weaken the anti-American narrative now prevailing in Iraqi politics.

Americas best hope to remain safely in Iraq is to hold its fire; otherwise, it risks shooting its way into an embarrassing strategic defeat.

A Slow-Burning Conflict

The U.S. drone strike that killed the top Iranian Quds Force general, Qassem Soleimani, and senior Iraqi security official and paramilitary veteran Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis (Jamal Jafar) on Jan. 3 was ostensibly meant to restore deterrence. It did not. Iraqi paramilitaries resumed attacks on U.S. assets in the country only weeks later, re-igniting a slow-burning conflict between the United States, Iran, and Irans Iraqi allies.

The latest flare-up came on March 11, when a hail of rockets struck the Iraqi military base Camp Taji outside Baghdad and killed two U.S. servicemen and one British soldier deployed in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led international coalition to combat ISIL. The United States retaliated the next day with airstrikes against what it alleged were weapon-storage facilities belonging to Iraqi paramilitary faction Kataib Hizbullah. These terror groups must cease their attacks on U.S. and coalition forces or face consequences at a time and place of our choosing, warned the Pentagon in a March 12 press release. Iraqi officials, meanwhile, said U.S. strikes had in fact killed Iraqi soldiers and police, as well as one civilian worker. In a statement, the Iraqi security forces Joint Operations Command described the U.S. bombing as a naked aggression on Iraq. Two days later, unknown assailants plainly undeterred again rocketed Camp Taji, wounding three U.S. troops and several Iraqis.

The March 11 rocket barrage was only the most recent and deadliest in a series of attacks on U.S. assets in Iraq that began in summer 2019. Those strikes came amid a wave of disruptive, largely unattributed attacks against U.S. interests and allies across the wider Middle East, including September attacks on Saudi oil installations. Most or all of these operations seem to have been part of a coordinated campaign by Iran and its local allies in response to the Trump administrations policy of maximum pressure.

Irans Asymmetric Retaliation

Irans defense apparatus is not organized for a head-on military confrontation with the United States. Rather, Iran has developed extensive asymmetric capabilities, including by cultivating capable, motivated nonstate allies regionwide.

In Iraq, what is sometimes termed Iranian influence manifests mainly in the form of Irans many Iraqi allies. Iranian officials have made a long-term investment in social, political, and economic ties with Iraqi political and paramilitary factions. Now those officials leverage those ties to forge and break deals between Iraqi factions. In 2014, most pre-existing Iran-aligned armed factions were officially incorporated into Iraqs newly formed Popular Mobilization forces (al-Hashd al-Shabi) as the country rallied paramilitary auxiliary units to beat back ISIL. But this Iran-linked subset self-identifies not only as part of the Popular Mobilization but also as Resistance factions (fasail al-Muqawama) champions of an anti-imperialist and anti-Zionist cause, and part of a regionwide coalition marshalled by Iran. They are often called, reductively, Iranian proxies. But these groups have their own personalities and interests, even if they make common cause and often coordinate their actions with Iranian officials.

The United States and Irans regional conflict previously reached a crisis point in December and January, when the United States retaliated for another deadly rocket attack with airstrikes against Kataib Hizbullah in both Iraq and Syria. After Iraqi mourners at a memorial for the groups fighters, and other supporters of Iran-backed factions, stormed the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, the United States reacted in shocking fashion by killing Soleimani and Muhandis in a drone strike as the two men left Baghdad International Airport.

This stunning escalation raised fears of all-out regional war, as the United States and Iran traded threats. Iran responded on Jan. 8 by firing more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. and coalition forces. Thanks to some advance warning and a healthy dose of luck, no U.S. servicemembers were killed in the missile strikes, although more than 100 were later diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries sustained in the attack. The Iranian response was presented by Washington as an effectively de-escalatory, face-saving move. Iranian Foreign Minister Jayad Zarif announced that its defensive response had concluded, saying, We do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression. Fears of a wider regional war dissipated.

But those missile strikes only represented Irans direct, overt retaliation. It then reoriented strategically toward expelling the United States from the region. Nor did the strikes necessarily provide satisfaction for Irans local allies, who have their own agency and scores to settle.

Amid the shock over Soleimanis death, it went underappreciated that the United States also killed Muhandis, who was both deputy head of the Popular Mobilization and one of these Resistance factions most influential leaders. Because of how Iran has assembled its security exoskeleton regionally, it has Iraqi paramilitary allies who are evidently able and motivated to respond to the U.S. killing of both Muhandis and Soleimani with or without Iranian prodding.

After Muhandis and Soleimanis deaths, these factions initially promised to exercise restraint as Iraqs politicians attempted to secure a U.S. exit from the country through political means. But as those political efforts stalled, attacks ticked back up again, pushing the expulsion of foreign forces back to the top of the countrys agenda.

The Anti-American Turn in Iraqi Politics

The U.S. killing of Soleimani and Muhandis reshuffled Iraqi politics, allowing Iran-friendly factions to take up the rhetoric of resistance to foreign occupation and make newly energetic efforts to require the United States to leave the country.

On Jan. 5, a narrow majority of Iraqs parliament voted to mandate the Iraqi government to end the presence of foreign forces in the country. The parliamentary resolution while officially nonbinding nonetheless lent legislative cover to Prime Minister Adel Abdulmahdi to tell the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad that he intended to implement the resolution, and to ask Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to develop a mechanism for the departure of U.S. forces. Washington rebuffed him, announcing it was not interested in discussing withdrawal.

How much weight Abdulmahdis request carries is up for debate, coming as it did from a caretaker prime minister Abdulmahdi resigned in late 2019 but has remained in the role pending a confirmed successor based on a nonbinding parliamentary resolution. Nonetheless, the combination of the resolution and the prime ministers request shifted Iraqs political discourse, recentering the countrys political debate on the legitimacy of the U.S. presence as part of the counter-ISIL campaign. Previous attempts by parties friendly to Iran to legislate the United States out of Iraq had failed. It was the killing of Soleimani and Muhandis that allowed them to muster the political support and parliamentary votes for such a move and to enlist Shiite blocs that had previously endorsed the necessity of a coalition presence despite disagreement even among the parties that voted for the resolution over which forces should leave and how.

Iran-aligned armed factions have used the parliamentary vote to emphasize not only the illegitimacy of the U.S. presence but also the correspondingly legitimate right to resist U.S. occupation. They have praised the most recent attacks, but also avoided claiming responsibility themselves. This has created enough ambiguity for them to portray the attacks as acts of organic popular resistance, while additionally protecting their own stake in Iraqi politics.

The clumsy retaliation for these attacks, moreover, has undermined Americas political standing in Iraq and stirred opposition to the United States among Iraqis who are not resistance ideologues, but who do not want their country to be the scene for bloody U.S.-Iranian score-settling.

Iraqi security officials told us in a phone interview in the past several weeks that the United States gave Iraqi security agencies some advance notification before its retaliatory strikes but has otherwise executed them unilaterally, undermining Iraqi officials trust in a U.S. administration they see as acting less like a partner and more like an occupying force. That trust was eroded further when, they say, the March 12 U.S. bombings killed Iraqi security personnel and an Iraqi civilian. Those strikes prompted condemnation from even Iraqis friendly to Washington, lending more energy to the push for U.S. forces to leave the country. Iraqi President Barham Salih, who is considered sympathetic to the U.S. presence, condemned the foreign bombing and resultant loss of Iraqi life, calling it a violation of national sovereignty. In its statement after the March 14 rocket attack on Camp Taji, Iraqs Joint Operations Command said that unilateral U.S. action does not limit these acts. Rather, it fuels them, weakens the capability of the Iraqi state, and leaves further losses among Iraqis and others, all of which demands the speedy implementation of Parliaments resolution on withdrawal.

Unilateral U.S. retaliation thus burns goodwill even among Iraqis inclined to support an American role in the country.

Disastrous Impacts for Iraq and U.S.-Iraqi Ties

Continuing tensions between the United States, Iran, and Irans Iraqi allies and the resulting intermittent spasms of violence have already had a deeply negative impact on Iraq and on the U.S.-Iraqi relationship. If this goes on, it will further destabilize the country and could rally more Iraqis against the United States.

This conflict has exacerbated the domestic political crisis with which Iraq has been grappling since October 2019, when mass youth protests broke out nationwide. Prime Minister Abdulmahdi yielded to popular pressure and resigned in November. But Iraqs politicians have since failed to form a new government, a task complicated by domestic division over the U.S. presence. It was already difficult to find a suitable candidate for the premiership who would be acceptable to both the political establishment and the activist street. The U.S. killing of Soleimani and Muhandis led Iran-friendly parties and paramilitaries to harden their rejection of the U.S. troop presence in the country, further polarizing the countrys political blocs between proponents and opponents of a continued U.S. role. The result has been deadlock.

That political polarization has also taken on a sectarian dimension, undoing some of the progress Iraq has made since the campaign to defeat ISIL began in 2014. Among the salutary effects of that otherwise terrible, costly war was a marked reduction in the sectarian political polarization that had originally helped empower ISIL, which insinuated itself as a Sunni mass mobilization against Shiite Baghdad. More recently, Iraqis had formed cross-sectarian political coalitions and increasingly forged personal links across communal lines. Yet as Iraqi politicians have divided again into U.S.- and Iran-aligned camps, they have also split along ethno-sectarian lines. The Iraqi parliamentary resolution calling for the expulsion of foreign forces passed with most Shiite lawmakers votes, while most Sunni and Kurdish representatives avoided the session. For their part, Kurdish and Sunni factions have stepped up their engagement with the United States, as they have seen the escalating tensions empower Irans allies in Iraqs intra-Shiite politics. Without the United States, they worry those Iran-aligned parties rhetoric will prevail in Shiite politics, and on the Iraqi national scene. This realignment in Iraqs parliament along ethnic and sectarian lines has persisted as the countrys parties have jousted over the nomination of a prime minister.

The result has been a political vacuum, in which paramilitaries can continue to attack U.S. and foreign forces with near-impunity as they simultaneously push for a prime ministerial candidate friendly to their interests.

Iraq needs a government, particularly as plummeting oil prices impoverish its oil-dependent state and the spread of coronavirus both threatens Iraqi lives and further paralyzes the countrys economy. But additionally, without an Iraqi government interlocutor, the United States and its coalition partners cannot negotiate a revised agreement that would provide legal cover and mitigate Iraqi political resistance to the coalition presence in the country. Coalition members had hoped to devise some new formula or reconfiguration of foreign forces in Iraq that would de-emphasize the U.S. role symbolically and push to the fore less controversial coalition member countries. If the heightened tension continues, though, this will be far more difficult. Moreover, that tension immobilizes even coalition partners that might otherwise facilitate Iraqi government formation or engage Iran-friendly political parties and paramilitary factions to discuss de-escalation. Recent attacks on coalition forces may instead encourage these countries to withdraw their servicemembers from the country. Coalition members including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain have all announced that they will withdraw troops from Iraq, mainly citing coronavirus risk and a related pause in the training of Iraqi forces, but against the backdrop of continued tensions and rocket attacks.

Tensions Benefit the Islamic State

This escalation between the United States, Iran, and its local friends has already compromised joint efforts to combat what remains of ISIL the reason U.S. and coalition forces are in Iraq to start with. The jihadist organization continues to wage its insurgency in Iraq as small, autonomous guerrilla units, operating from Iraqs most rugged and forbidding terrain, including mountains and expanses of open desert. From these areas, ISIL militants can terrorize outlying rural communities. This insurgent-friendly terrain cannot be properly held by Iraqi forces. To maintain effective pressure on ISIL militants in these rural safe havens, the Iraqis have thus relied on assistance from the U.S.-led coalition, which has provided Iraqi forces with key technical capabilities such as air support, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. This is in addition to the training and advice the coalition also contributes, which is important over the longer term if Iraq is to achieve self-sufficiency.

Tension since January has hamstrung cooperation between U.S. and Iraqi security forces, leaving Iraqis to pursue ISIL with reduced coalition assistance, to seemingly diminished effect. By at least some accounts, ISIL has taken advantage by more aggressively targeting Iraqi forces and intimidating civilians in rural areas.

If attacks on coalition forces escalate and Iraqi pressure for a U.S. exit grows to the point that the United States has to leave, nearly all coalition members which depend on American logistics and political heft are likely to leave with it. The United States contributes the majority of coalition troops in Iraq and the enabling capabilities that are most vital to the counter-ISIL fight; there is no clear substitute. The exit of coalition forces and the loss of coalition support seem like the most direct way to relieve pressure on ISIL remnants, allowing them to qualitatively escalate their insurgency, and to expand numerically and geographically. Steps underway to consolidate U.S. troops in fewer, more easily defensible bases already may compromise U.S. forces contribution to Iraqi counter-ISIL efforts.

If the United States is forced out of Iraq in an ugly, contentious fashion, it could poison the bilateral relationship. The Trump administration may decide that Iraq has fallen entirely under Irans sway and decline to renew existing waivers that exempt Iraq from sanctions on Iran on which Iraq relies for electricity generation or even levy threatened new sanctions on Iraq itself, crippling the countrys already hard-hit economy just as it struggles to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

A U.S. exit would also disrupt Iraqi politics, as Iraqi forces friendly to Iran could find themselves in a position to dictate the governments personnel and policy. Even a worsened ISIL insurgency would likely only enhance these forces influence. As Iran-linked paramilitaries return to the fore in the battle against the jihadist group, their centrality to national security would translate into enhanced political leverage. At the local level, these factions will not be able to rely on the same technologically sophisticated, precise tools such as precision airstrikes and the detailed intelligence that makes them possible the American-led coalition has used to combat ISIL. If they instead resort to blunter, less discriminate means to fight ISIL in mostly Sunni areas, it could come at a terrible human cost and re-open deep societal rifts.

Recapturing the Strategic Initiative

The United States ought to recognize that the current escalatory dynamic in Iraq is, for America, a losing one.

With its retaliatory airstrikes, the United States has opted for hard military means to protect its troops and deter Iran-linked factions provocations. It has not succeeded. The groups perpetrating the attacks have not been deterred. Whats more, each ill-considered attempt to do so risks repeating what happened with the March 12 strikes, killing uninvolved Iraqis and mobilizing more Iraqis against a continued American presence. The United States faces a dilemma: It needs to protect its troops, and it is hard to allow these attacks to pass without some rejoinder. Yet knee-jerk U.S. responses uncoordinated with Iraqi partners which are ostensibly meant to make American personnel safer risk making Iraq more hostile and dangerous, and potentially untenable for U.S. forces.

All of this is a distraction from why the United States purportedly is in Iraq. The United States continues to maintain that its forces are there to support Iraqis own counter-ISIL efforts, not to wage war on Iran and its proxies. The United States needs to safeguard its personnel. But by letting itself be baited into repeated retaliatory strikes, the U.S. military is allowing self-defense and force protection to consume its original mission. U.S. forces participating in back-and-forth violence with Iraqi factions at times at the expense of Iraqi bystanders, civilian, and military and that are not effectively enabling counter-ISIL efforts are a net negative for Iraqi security. They are making Iraq less safe, not more.

Even in terms of the Trump administrations professed aim of countering Irans regional influence, this tit-for-tat escalation is not working. Its swift retaliatory strikes are meant to convey American strength and determination. In reality, they mostly demonstrate how Washington has ceded the initiative to its Iran-linked adversaries, who can dictate the timing and circumstances of Americas next reaction. Each U.S. misstep only plays into their hands, further undermining American influence in the country and increasing the likelihood of a total U.S. exit.

This dynamic is two-sided, of course, but the armed factions demanding a U.S. exit have little reason to stop it. The asymmetric campaign paramilitaries are waging is low cost and sustainable. And for them, violence is working they now seem on their way to dramatically reducing U.S. influence in Iraq, tilting Iraqi politics toward their agenda, and, if they run the United States out of the country entirely, scoring a major strategic victory regionally.

If anyone is going to break this retaliatory cycle, then, it has to be the United States. But it cannot be done by doubling down on threats and reflexive deterrent responses. Nor can the United States realistically expect the Iraqi security forces to confront these paramilitary factions, risking wide-open civil conflict. Instead, Americas best chance is to exercise restraint, consult with its Iraqi partners, and provide an opportunity for the formation of a new Iraqi government.

With a new government in place, the United States and its coalition partners could negotiate a new agreement on the deployment of foreign forces in the country that reasserts Iraqi authority and supervision; reduces the U.S. footprint in Iraq, even if only symbolically; and ensures countries other than the United States are the face of the coalition effort to support Iraq. An agreement of this kind would both solidify the legitimate legal basis for coalition forces presence and undercut the argument of those denouncing the U.S. presence as a foreign occupation violating Iraqi sovereignty. If the controversy over the legitimacy of foreign forces presence can be dialed down, political and popular forces that advocate more balanced relationships with both the United States and Iran should be in a stronger position to reassert themselves. Washington will also be freer to partner with Baghdad on initiatives that could win lasting Iraqi goodwill for the United States, such as support for the countrys coronavirus response.

This broader political shift could also constrain anti-American paramilitaries, which would be defying the countrys government and laws if they continued armed resistance against U.S. and foreign forces. These factions are not wholly immune to Iraqi politics; they have an ideology and an agenda, but they also must take into account Iraqi public opinion.

It may be a long shot. Still, this could be the United States best hope to remain in the country under relatively stable conditions, both to continue a counter-ISIL fight that is an important U.S. priority and to balance Irans influence in Iraqi politics. De-escalation in Iraq is a U.S. interest it can help create conditions for the formation of a new government and for putting U.S.-Iraqi relations on more solid footing. That is what would represent a genuine strategic victory, albeit not a victory won on the battlefield.

Maria Fantappie is special adviser for the Middle East and North Africa with the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. Follow Maria on Twitter: @MariaFantappie.

Sam Heller is International Crisis Groups senior analyst on Non-State Armed Groups, as part of the organizations work on Jihad in Modern Conflict. Follow Sam on Twitter: @AbuJamajem.

Image: Mehr News Agency

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In Iraq, Restraint Is America's Best Option - War on the Rocks

Nuclear-weapons testing and cancer: A Snohomish teenager carries her family’s legacy to the summit of an Oregon mountain – Seattle Times

Posted: March 29, 2020 at 8:49 pm

Editors note:Due to the production schedule for Pacific NW magazine, this story was written before the states shelter in place orders, intended to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, were enacted.

UTAH, CIRCA 1955: From out of a cloud of dust, a rusty trucks wheels come to a halt. The driversdoor opens, and a well-worn boot steps onto the dirt road.

Verl Alldredge moves cautiously to greet two men in uniform.Government men. Words are exchanged as a formality while one of the men makes hisway back to the trucks load: fruit and vegetables headed from Arizona into St. George, Utah.

The Backstory: The therapeutic power of hiking, nature and transformative connections

When heflicks on a Geiger counter, itsmeter needle jumps vigorously, and a series of rapid clicks fills the space in that vast desert. The counter is quickly silenced, and the officer sighs heavily. Verl asks, Should I dump it? What should I do with it? Their eyes lock, Verl already knowing the response. The officer shrugs. No, goahead. It will be fine.

Verl drives on down that dusty road, bound for St. George.

Verl took it into town and passed it throughout the grocery stores, and sold it to the community, says his grandson, Travis Alldredge.

THERE IS ALWAYS something to be thankful for, reads a motivational quote on thewall of Josie Alldredges Snohomishbedroom, where a purplepillowcase matches a purple handmade quilt and a purple stuffed dragon. Soon-to-be-18-year-old Josie is the daughter of Travis, granddaughter of Cindy Alldredge (who made the dragon) and great-granddaughter of Verl.

Josie, a senior at Monroe High School, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at the age of 15, on Nov. 9, 2016 the day after Donald Trump was elected. Her story of transformation from cancer victim to confident, grateful leader encompasses the atomic bomb, an innovative outdoor-adventure program that led her on a soul-challengingnine-day trek into the Oregon wilderness and a magical, multicolored Unicorn Poop Cake.

Far from Josies bedroom, but only 130miles west of Verls Utah home, in the northernmost MojaveDesert, lay the infamous Nevada Test Site,whose primary purpose was to test nuclear weapons. A prolonged, dangerous and unintended experiment on Americans living downwind took place there between 1951 and 1962, when the Atomic Energy Commission carried out some 100 aboveground atmospheric tests at the site, later renamed the NevadaNational Security Site. Before the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963 ended open-air testing, mesmerizing billowing clouds dazzled the residents of the small city of St. George, where the Alldredge family lived.

Myparents would see mushroom clouds fly over the town, and big flashes at night over the mountains, recalls Travis, who was born after the testing ended, but who remembersthe stories of family members who witnessed the awe-inspiring spectacle of nuclear-weapons testing.

The clouds and resulting fallout, in the form ofradioactive ash, dirt and debris, often landed on St. George. No warnings about thedangers of exposure to radiation were issued by the federal government and itsoversight agency, the Atomic Energy Commission. In fact, those living nearby were assured they had nothingto worry about.

But the reality was quite different. The produce in Verls truck set off a Geiger counter because it had been contaminated by a fine white ashthat coated everything from vegetable gardens to sandboxes and lawn furniture. Verl and the people of St. Georgewho bought and ate this produce and drank the milk from cows grazing oncontaminated pastureland were among the thousands of Downwinders from Utah, Nevada and adjacent states exposed to fallout and radiation released by atmosphericbomb blasts.

What ensued in the years that followed was a veritable epidemic of cancersamong the residents of St. George. First-generationDownwinders in the Alldredge family, those directly exposed to fallout from atomic blasts, were hit hard. Verls wife, Ada Nelson Alldredge, died of lung cancer. Their son, Travis father, Michael Alldredge, now 71, has chronic myeloid leukemia, for which hetakes daily chemotherapy pills. Two of Michaels sisters, also Downwinders who grewup in St. George, were diagnosed with cancer.

Travis, a third-generation Downwinder, was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma at age 25; Josie had an even more aggressive form of the same cancer.

As a fourth-generation Downwinder, Josie is the inheritor of the historical and biological burden imposed by her familys toxic nuclear legacy passed along in stories and very likely in her DNA. Lifting that burden from her young shoulders would be no small task: She would need the help of an entire team of dedicated caregivers and pathfinders. Together, they wouldembark on a demanding but also transformative, quasi-magical journey through thewilderness, helping Josie discover the curative powers of nature.

IN JEANS, T-SHIRT and chunky hiking boots, five days shy of turning 18, Josie sits alittle awkwardly on her bed with a nervous smile, and describes how her illness began: I had just turned 15, and a couple of months later, Iwas diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma. I went through treatments andeverything. You know, pretty sick, like you get. I lost weight, and with my chemotherapy, my hair started falling out, bit by bit. I just got so incredibly fed up with it that Ishaved my head. Shaving your head during the winter months not fun.

Josies lymph nodes, her extended family and far too many residents from thesmall city of St. George were ravaged with cancer. Two weeks earlier, Josiesgrandmother had become the most recent family member diagnosed with thedisease. In September 2019, only four weeks after this sunny August afternoon, Cindy Alldredge, age 67, died of cancer.

I grew up on a ranch down there, eating that dirt, playing in that dirt, Travis says. Josie never did, but her cancer was so muchworse than mine. And she relapsed sixmonths after treatment and went through a stem-cell transplant, and had a full year ofchemo after that, too.

He pauses to compose himself. Watching your 15-year-old high school sophomore starting to have some real issues and not figuring what it was. Then when we did figure it was devastating.

PEPSI OR COKE?comes a voice from the back of a van filled with eight teenagers: Peter, Cora, Kira, Evan, Clarke, Jake, Lizzie and Josie, plus at least as many backpacks, stuffed plastic bins and scattered snacks. Day 1 finds them cruising south fromPortland toward the Three Sisters Wilderness area, the van initially holding an awkwardsilence. Then this game gains momentum, eliciting preferences and common ground: milk chocolate or dark? Netflix or Hulu? Snapchat or Instagram? A pictureemerges of the teens differences; similarities; pets; allergies; and, perhaps most of all, hunger for connection.

The last thing these teenagers want is to be defined by their cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, fewer than 1% of cancers in theUnited States occurs in children and teenagers. Yet, like an atomic bomb, it creates an enormous crater in a critical developmental stage of life.

Young adults diagnosed with cancer are particularly susceptible to feelings of isolation, depression and despair. One study by psychiatrists at the Yale University School ofMedicine found that teens battling cancer suffered from a more than fourfold increasein the likelihood of a suicide attempt.

Shes still struggling, Travis says of Josie. When you are going through treatment, you live a really structured life. Itcan be really hard. You put everything on hold and build walls around your emotions.Josie has lost a lot of her identity. She was a sophomore and is a senior now, butwas rarely at school in the last two-and-one-half years.

Back in the van, Josie is one of the quieter ones. When her father heard about this adventure opportunity for teens undergoing treatment, he leapt at it. Pulling them out of their comfort zone is a great way to help themsee who they are and how to move forward, Travis says. Anything to help Josie get moving onwith her life again. Shes awesome. She doesnt realize it. She doesnt realize how coolshe is.

THE FOUNDER OF See You at the Summit (SYATS), Heather Rose Otto,is a slight yet athletic-looking 40-year-old, carrying a backpack twice her size.Registered nurse and therapeutic wilderness facilitator, she is both scrappy entrepreneur andsofthearted caregiver, equipped with the tools to fulfill either role. She has prepared for this inaugural adventure for 16 years, consuming 200-plus research papers in developing the programs goals and curriculum.

SYATS is the first organization of its kind in the United States,designed to empower teens in treatment for cancer. Through the therapeutic powers ofadventure, immersion in nature, and the resulting physical accomplishment and self-reliance, the intent is to treat the submerged trauma that the medical world cannotreach, fostering gratitude and autonomy in its participants.

There are extraordinary logistical challenges, legalsafeguards and privacy requirements involved in providing this vulnerable group with much-needed risk and a break from the protective bubble of adult and medical caution and fear. The SYATS medicaland safety team has created an emergency action plan with input from the local sheriff, search and rescue, and an emergency department, and also established possiblehelicopter evacuation sites and procedures.

A little west of Bend, Oregon, in the shadow ofMount Bachelor, the vans are emptied, and base camp is a hum of activity. With gear largely sorted, tents up and sleeping bags down, the first evening endswith yoga. The teenagers seem far from their phones, computers, televisions,heart monitors, MRIs, CT scans every noise, stress and distraction that has definedtheir experience the past few years.

There is a sense, as stars emerge in the quiet and darkening firmament, of an opportunity to start anew.

LEAVING THE ROADand civilization behind, Josie and her new friends begin their ascent into the Three Sisters Wilderness at a crawl. The day included 1,384 feet of elevation gain in 2.6 miles. The teens carry the weight of a sleeping bag, pad, liner, waterbladder, bottle, head lamp, toilet kit, acute lymphocytic leukemia, toothpaste and toothbrush, hand sanitizer, lip balm, squamous cell cancer of the parotid cheek gland,sunscreen, facial paralysis, bug repellent, chronic kidney damage, boots, gaiters,mature B-cell lymphoma, Crocs, socks, Hodgkin lymphoma, ovarian cancer, underwear, gonadal mixed germ cell tumor, bras, pants,chemotherapy, surgery, down jacket, radiation, transplants, compression sacks, snacks, spinal tap, brainganglioglioma, bandanna, whistle, migraines, scans, infections, blood tests, pack towel,sunglasses, more chemo and more. Immeasurably more. Spork, cup, stress, family stress, a compass, trekking poles, folding bowls, tension, fear of dying, a poem, more fear of dying, sometimes tents, meals too, depression, financial strain, sleepless nights, days in bed, loss of friends, loss and so manytears. A merciless number of tears.

The trail winds up a ravine deep amid the firs, pines and hemlocks. Much ofthe stunning fauna and flora goes unappreciated, with minds fixed on managing onemore step. Complaints vary from burning lungs to blocked noses, heads pounding,backs aching, muscles screaming, joints creaking. Recently tethered tomachines and deeply dependent on physicians and their families, these young peopleare now expected to survive, even thrive, using only their own two feet and thecontents of their packs.

Josie, head down, draws way inside herself, like most of the teenagers. Shewallows in an all-too-familiar feeling of struggling along a ledge above a dark abyss. (Later, within the camp confines, she reflected with shortened breath: It was a very, very, very long day. We hiked some really steep inclines, and I just kept getting weaker and weaker. I almost fell off the side of themountain a couple of times, but I didnt so thats the fun part.)

With a watchful eye behind the group that afternoon, founder Heather Rose whispers to herself, Trust the process. That process is in fact an intricate therapeutic jigsaw puzzle of pieces shes cut with scalpel precision. She wants Josie and her peers to step tothe edge of their known ability. Teeter. Seek help or not. Find support. Move on.Repeat.

Finally, the trail levels out, and the bright blue-green of Moraine Lake flashes tolife in Josies weary eyes. Her face lifts, and a sense of relief spreadsthroughout the group.

Heather Rose repeats under her breath, Trust the process.

ON THE THIRD day of the trip, and the first day of her adult life, partway up amountain, newly 18-year-old Josie wakes in her thermalunderwear, cocooned in a puffy down sleeping bag.

Heather Rose helps lead the group in stretching; a gratitude circle; team-building challenges; meditation; journaling; and a bold conversation about sharedcancer experiences, perceptions, grievances and lessons learned.

As this rest day proceeds, Josie vacillates between being a teenager and somethingmore.

She joins friends submerged in the cool waters of Moraine Lake. They stand in a loose,tentative group, talking quietly and shivering, reluctant to abandon this newfoundopportunity for an intimacy theyve all lacked for so long. The water is cold, but the ice is starting to melt.

After dinner, the group huddles closer as the temperature drops, circling for the evenings gratitude.

In celebration of Josie on herbirthday, each person shares an appreciative reflection on her. She sits still, listening attentively, wearing her modest smile and acknowledging the kindwords with gentle eyes. Then its her turn to show gratitude to herself. She resists at first, ispressed and finally almost whispers, Im grateful that I havent been as awkward as Iusually am.

A chorus of Happy Birthday breaks out around Josie, who is rosy-cheeked andbeaming. A hugeround Unicorn Poop Cake with a single burning candle miraculously appears beside her. A member of the Oregon Air National Guards 125th Special Tactics Squadron hadvolunteered to carry up the cake ina milk crate strapped to his backpack. Josie tries to blow out the trick candle over and over before finally throwing back her head in laughter. Even the candle isnt going to be easy.

For anyone paying attention, the change in Josie already is palpable and exciting. Heather Rosefeels it and speaks to the teens before they retreat to their tents: Im not one to wearmy emotions on my sleeve, but I started this vision 16 years ago in order to have this very moment Shestops herself, pauses, searching for a feeling, then adds, There are no words to describe what its like.

EACH DAY IS hot and bright; each night, clear and frigid. The fifth day in Oregonswilderness begins with a logistically and emotionally tough team-building exercise involving a metal tent pole; frustration; and, eventually, openness and apologies.

Josie and Evan, the two oldest, are the scheduled trail leaders for the day. Seventeen and ingood physical shape, Evan stands out as confident and independent. Chatting in theirdowntime, he and Josie have started to bond, sharing small gestures of understanding: nods, smiles andprivate chuckles.

Equipped with a map, compass and radios, the two prepare to lead the group,leaving Green Lakes and heading east to Todd Lake. Josies nose suddenly becomes a torrent of blood. Yet another outpouring. The blood persists, and only the team medic packing her nostril keeps it at bay. Her confidence is knocked again, and she sits head in hands on a fallen tree, defeated and vulnerable.

Its now after 2 p.m., hours after the scheduled departure, with 6miles at least ahead of them. Evan is already far ahead with half of the group. The outlook is not good, but Josie suddenly rises and gestures for the others to follow. The determination that the 18-year-old leader now sets off with is contagious, and the small group finds a solid stride.

Dust streams behind the backpackers as theysnake their way across the terrain. Eventually, Josie and Evan join up and lead a triumphant descent into the ToddLake campground to high-fives and cheers from waiting volunteers.

Sitting fireside that evening, singing freely and laughing heartily, Josie is a different young woman from the demure girl sitting in her bedroom one week and 300 miles ago.

Evanreaches out and touches Josies arm as he makes a point. Josie covers her mouth andlaughs, looks away and looks back furtively. They are flirting. Its subtle, but itsflirting. Heather Rose sighs deeply, contentedly, from theshadows.

THE SIXTH DAY is the presummit day. A day of rest. Already, these teenagers have tapped intocomplex relationships with one another and invisible networks of therapeuticinterconnections with the natural world around them. Their wilderness immersion feedsthem wisdom and emotional nutrients.

All of this is beginning to emerge in Josies words, spoken and written; in her body language; hergestures;her footfalls; her touches to others, and to the Earth, leaves and roots.

While a sterilized hospital room was the environment for her medicaltreatment, the wilderness is the environment in which she rediscovers a broader, new andthriving definition of self: becoming one with her peers and one with nature.

Around the final sparks of the campfire that evening, in the excitement of preparations for the next morning, Heather Rose makes an announcement:Tomorrow, our summit will be as far as all of us can go together, whatever the highest point that is. Our summit will be however we can support each other and however farwe can go as a group. As one unit. As one team.

BY 5.30 A.M., all the teenagers are up, and camp is coming down. At 7 a.m.,after yoga and breakfast, Todd Lake is behind them. Broken Topssummit is 8 miles and 2,400 feet of elevation gain ahead.

By late morning, the trees thin, replaced by hardened lava flowsand volcanic debris. Midday passes, hiking in meditativesilence, every crunch under a boot, the rasp of every breath, pack straps pressing into softsloped shoulders. Everyone together,walking over the mountains, as far as they can go.

In journaling the daybefore, each teenager had to identify what he or she would like to leave behindduring this apex of metamorphosis.During a late lunch stop at a creek, Josie sets out to find just the right small rock.

Later, in the shadow of the summit, silently and methodically, one by one,the teenagers gently toss their rocks into theflowing creek. Josies precise movements are a diamond-tipped sample of her new self, a mindful balance of vulnerability, acceptance and newfound strength.

The call of the final pitch to the summit beckons. This is the mostdangerous stretch of the trail. The teens must follow a narrow path traversing a steep,loose scree slope abovethe spectacular but deadly cold No Name Lake.

Josie safely edges past the lake and up the saddle of Broken Tops peak.She stops, partway, catches her breath on the exposed ridge, scramblesover a boulder and continues. Every step is one she thought she couldnt take a weekago. And then, in a seismic clap, a split atomic second, Josie is there.

A sudden gust of wind takes her by surprise and sends another team members hat away and over the edge, a sacrifice never seen again. Behind Josie lies the conquered trail and the terrible darkness of the pastfew years. Ahead of her lies a landscape of infinite possibility.

Joshua Bright is a British photojournalist and writer living in a teeny New York apartment with his wife and son. When not working for The New York Times and other publications, he relishes opportunities to escape into the wilderness, adventure and peace of mind. His projects on end-of-life, homelessness, disabilities and Zen mediation have been widely acclaimed. Instagram: @jbrightphoto. Website: joshuabright.com.

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Nuclear-weapons testing and cancer: A Snohomish teenager carries her family's legacy to the summit of an Oregon mountain - Seattle Times

Trail By Fire: Welcome to The Tribe Volcanoes Half-Marathon, The Worlds Toughest Island Race – Men’s health UK

Posted: March 29, 2020 at 8:48 pm

Why do you run? A few years ago, the answer was simple enough: weight loss and fitness. Trudge around your local park for 30 minutes a couple of times a week, and that was your cardio box ticked. A leaner physique was just around the corner.

These days, the answer is often more nuanced. Some run for the dopamine hit, seeking a high to relieve the stress of modern life. For others, its a desire to outrun the nine-to-five and push boundaries to truly challenge their physical abilities.

Thats how it is for me. A couple of years ago, the only running I did was when I chased after my loose touches on the five-a-side pitch. Now, running is the star player in my training regimen. I only lace up my trainers a few times a week, but each run is a chance to go a little further and push a little harder than the last time.

I ran my first marathon last year, completing Brighton in three hours and 14 minutes. I could hardly walk the next day, but I loved it and afterwards, I couldnt help but feel that my weekend road runs had become pedestrian. I needed a fresh challenge.

The Tribe Volcanoes Half-Marathon provides just that: part of the Run for Love ultramarathon, its a 13-mile scramble up and around a volcanic crater in the Azores archipelago. With its brutal inclines, perilous descents and uneven, challenging terrain, its the polar opposite of my gentle weekend plod from my flat to the nearest plate of scrambled eggs.

Tribe, the organiser of Run for Love, describes it as the worlds toughest island race. Over six days, 100 or so ultrarunners will cover 280km (roughly the distance between London and Manchester) a feat made all the more laudable by the fact that theyll be testing their stamina and mental grit in the name of fighting slavery. Across the three Runs for Love so far, Tribe has raised more than 500,000 and built several homes for survivors of modern slavery and trafficking.

In this context, the single day of toil that Ive signed up for seems pretty lightweight. Thats why, though there are just two weeks until the race, my training regimen isnt exactly what youd call rigorous: one very muddy Parkrun in Surrey and 13 days of tapering. Im just jumping in at the final stage, so how hard can it be?

As I arrive on the island of So Miguel in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean after a 12-hour flight, it quickly dawns on me that it can, and will, be very hard. Among the battle-hardened ultrarunners, I realise that Ive been somewhat negligent in my preparation.

A proper meal and a good nights sleep are crucial to any race. Unfortunately, I have very little food and no tent. Im only here for one night, but Ive still managed to come understocked. In contrast, the ultrarunners who have been covering more than a marathon a day, charging up and down impossible gradients, grappling with injuries, rain and fatigue, are totally in control after almost a week.

Taking care of your body is key, says Mark, one of the runners who has just completed the penultimate stage, a 42km run and hike through Atlantic gusts and up 30 inclines. Yesterday was the really tough one: 80km, 4km in elevation and 19 hours. It rained for the final three hours.

Surrounded by the battle-hardened ultrarunners, I saw Id been negligent in my preparation

After that, you just want to curl up in your tent. But we knew we had to eat, stretch and properly decompress, so we were ready for tomorrow.

For all of the trails and tribulations, morale in the campsite is high though that might just be because tomorrow brings the finish line and the chance to eat real food again. One runner complains that he cant stomach another freeze-dried chicken curry, but any hot dinner certainly seems like an upgrade on my pouch of Ainsley Harriott couscous. Then, another campsite newbie unveils a Pret sandwich from Gatwick to noises of genuine awe.

I manage to haggle a spot in a tent in exchange for a couple of bags of Yorkshire Tea, smuggled from home, and pack down for the night. In the morning, its a case of fast fuelling oats, tea and a slightly battered banana for me; Tribe bars and gels for most of the pros.

Half an hour before the race is due to start, and confronted with a steep, uphill climb into a dense forest, the panic starts to set in. Id run half-marathons before, averaging around one hour and 25 minutes, but this was different. Everyone around me is packed to the hilt with gear: the start line is awash with walking poles and compression gear. Me? I have on some Aussie rules football shorts and a pair of On Cloudventure trail shoes, only previously used for muddy hikes. There are even pockets of conversation about the best routes. Up to this point, I had no idea that there could be more than one.

This was my first major learning (other than that camping requires a tent, duh!): unlike in city races, you cant simply turn up to a trail event and run. I frantically ask around for tips. Mark tells me that the key is short, soft strides. It might feel unnatural at first, he says. But quick, little strides distribute your weight better. In theory, this will make me run more efficiently and prevent my centre of gravity from shifting around too much, which, in turn, will keep me upright.

"Suddenly, I see a giant lake it certainly beats Lambeth on a rainy Monday

I resist the urge to grab my notepad and pen from the tent as he continues. Keep your eyes down, looking three or four steps ahead. When youre going uphill, lean into the hill and pump your arms to generate extra momentum upward. Using your arms will really help you walk up the steepest inclines. Walk? Yes, walk. Youve got to adjust your pace to the terrain. Youll end up slipping on loose turf and knackering yourself out if you try to run up every incline. If in doubt, walk.

When it comes to the course, one runner tells me to look out for the flags marking the route. Another says I should engage my glutes on the downhill stretches, while a kind soul points out that Im not carrying any water. Thats a bad idea, he says.

Despite my newly jangling nerves, I feel fresh and get off the line quickly. Whether its last nights couscous or the fact that most of my competitors have already clocked 250km this week, I soon find myself at the front of the pack. Eyes firmly fixed three steps ahead of the softest, bounciest strides I can manage, I make short work of the steep inclines.

As I burst clear of the forest, my view is suddenly dominated by the Lagoa das Sete Cidades, a giant lake lying in the crater of the volcano that this island is formed around. It certainly beats South Lambeth Road on a dreary Monday morning.

Men's Cloudventure Waterproof Trail Shoes

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Cruising on a flat path with only the crater and Strava for company, the next 5K breeze by. Before long, Im at the first fuelling station. Eat something. Youve got a steep climb coming up, warns one of the men dishing out Tribe bars. He wasnt joking. The narrow paths and wet mud make actual running impossible.

Strava isnt chiming in with my splits so swiftly any more. The gradient feels vertical and, at one point, it literally is: I have to shimmy up a wall of mud to reach the top of a cliff. Restraining my inner Dick Dastardly, I decide against untying the rope at the top.

At the top of the climb, more than 500m above the crater, its even harder to resist the urge to stop and take in the view. And in hindsight, slowing down would have been a good idea. I rush down a slightly hidden right turn and sprint into a field. After 10 minutes of descent, I realise that I havent seen any flags to mark my path. I stop and look over my shoulder. Theres no one behind me. So, as any rational guy would, I ignore all logic, suppress my mounting panic and plough on down the hill until Im confronted with a fork in the road. No flags. I cant ignore it now. Ive gone the wrong way.

Telling myself that at least this will make a good crisis point in my article, I take solace in another energy bar and trudge back up the hill. Back on track, the second half of the race feels more British countryside than Atlantic island. Climbing over dry walls, dodging cowpat and the ever-impending threat of rain if it wasnt for the giant volcanic crater dominating the landscape, this could be a yomp in the Yorkshire Dales.

All too soon, the finish comes into view. I cross the line in fifth, about 40 minutes longer than my PB, though my last race included less abseiling. My legs are burning more than after any run Ive completed before, but Im craving more: just one more climb, another mile, a final mind-blowing view. As the ultrarunners trickle across the line throughout the day some running, some hobbling, all smiling its easy to see how you could get hooked on the trails. But take it from me: it doesnt take 280km, or even 21km. If youre feeling listless, take your run off-road it could be the first step to elevating your body and mind to the next level.

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Trail By Fire: Welcome to The Tribe Volcanoes Half-Marathon, The Worlds Toughest Island Race - Men's health UK

Daytons dream basketball season ended abruptly, leaving fans to wonder what might have happened – The Columbus Dispatch

Posted: March 29, 2020 at 8:48 pm

Nobody knew it was over. Nobody could have.

What everyone did recognize at the University of Dayton Arena on the night of Saturday, March 7, was that they were in the midst of something special, a once-in-a-lifetime finish to the regular season in front of adoring and appreciative fans.

A tie game in the second half against underdog George Washington quickly turned into a rout. Obi Toppin, the national player of the year, sent the crowd into a frenzy with a series of dunks, including one in which he moved the basketball between his legs. The noise was loud enough to feel. You could practically see it.

After the game, which concluded a 29-2 regular season and an 18-0 run through the Atlantic 10 Conference, the Flyers cut down the nets. As players, their families and some fans hugged on the court, they spoke of how this was only the beginning.

Instead, it was the end.

The greatest regular season in Dayton Flyers history didnt have a postseason. If the Flyers had lived up to the No. 1 seed they were expected to get if they won the A-10 tournament, they would be playing this weekend in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. It would have been glorious.

Dayton has had great teams. The Flyers were a national power in the 1950s. They reached the NCAA championship game in 1967. They advanced to the Elite Eight with unexpected runs in 1984 and 2014.

This team was different. It really could have won it all. Thats what makes the cancellation of the tournament so tough for Dayton fans.

Rough times

To understand Daytons love for the Flyers, you have to know Dayton. You might have to be from Dayton, as I am.

At the turn of the last century, Dayton was a bastion of innovation. It was the proud home of the Wright brothers. NCR was headquartered here. My dad worked in the Mead building downtown.

Then NCR moved away. So did Mead and many other businesses. The elementary school I attended was torn down years ago. Good Samaritan Hospital, where I was born, closed last year. None of my close childhood friends lives in Dayton.

Dayton always has been overshadowed by two cities roughly an hour away. Cincinnati has the Reds, the Bengals and two high-profile college basketball programs. Columbus has Ohio State and has become an economic and population magnet for the rest of the state.

Dayton, though, has a feisty resolve, and its in the midst of a modest comeback.

Then last year, the city endured two major tragedies. On Memorial Day, at least 15 tornadoes swept through the area. The damage remains visible from I-75, the freeway that cuts through the city.

Two months later, on Aug. 4, a gunman outside Ned Peppers bar in the trendy Oregon District went on a shooting rampage, killing nine people in 32 seconds. Several UD basketball players escaped the scene.

Even before the season, the Flyers knew they were playing for more than themselves.

We knew that after the tornadoes and shooting happened, we had to lift the community up, junior guard Jalen Crutcher said. There was nothing that could lift them up but basketball because they love basketball here in Dayton.

Unlikely mix

These Flyers, in particular, were an ideal embodiment for the city they represent. Almost all of them overcame significant adversity.

Senior forward Ryan Mikesell, technically a graduate student after earning his mechanical engineering degree last year, underwent two hip surgeries and sat out his junior season. It was unclear whether he would play again.

Senior Trey Landers, the brother of former Buckeyes defensive tackle Robert Landers, played only 52 minutes as a freshman. Instead of transferring, he worked to improve and became the vocal leader of the team and its only hometown member.

Toppins story is familiar by now. During high school in Florida and New York state, Toppin was unrecruited before a growth spurt in his late teens sparked some interest. After high school, during a year at a Baltimore prep school when he grew to 6 feet 9, Toppin knew so little about Dayton that when he boarded a plane to visit the campus, he thought he was going to Daytona Beach, Florida. But he was welcomed so warmly during his visit that he committed before departing.

Though Dayton coaches quickly recognized Toppins vast potential, he had to spend a year as an academic redshirt before UD could unveil him. Four transfers, including Ibi Watson of Pickerington Central, had to sit out last season.

In charge of it all was coach Anthony Grant, who played for the Flyers in the mid-1980s before becoming a protg of Billy Donovan. He became head coach at Virginia Commonwealth and Alabama before reuniting with Donovan as an assistant with the NBAs Oklahoma City Thunder.

Dayton hired Grant in 2017 when Archie Miller left for Indiana after leading the Flyers to a school-record four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. Grant was viewed as a solid but somewhat uninspired pick.

Grant decided against any quick fixes. His first UD team went 14-17 as it endured some addition by subtraction. Last years team settled for an NIT appearance after a lack of depth created by the transfers sitting out caused the Flyers to lose several close games.

This season was expected to be better, but they got only one vote in the preseason Associated Poll. That came from longtime UD radio broadcaster Larry Hansgen, who spent enough time around the team to sense its strong chemistry.

The first real sign that these Flyers might be special came at the Maui Classic. They crushed Georgia and Virginia Tech before losing in overtime in the championship game to Kansas, which finished the year ranked No. 1. Daytons other loss came at a neutral-site game in late December, also in overtime, to Colorado on a three-pointer at the buzzer.

It wasnt just that they won all their other games. They played beautiful basketball. Their offense flowed. They routinely made the extra pass to turn a good shot into a gimme. They led the country in two-point field-goal percentage.

The unselfishness started with Toppin, who played with a childs joy. He wasnt above winking or waving at the camera, even in tense situations. He seemed to take as much delight in an assist as a dunk. Well, almost.

Its really contagious, sophomore guard Dwayne Cohill said. Sometimes on teams, you see the best player, he wants to get all his shots. Sometimes weve got to tell him, Obi, shoot the ball. Weve probably got a better chance to score than if you pass it.

But Dayton proved it was no one-man team. Crutcher, who hit a game-winning overtime three-pointer at Saint Louis in the closest call during A-10 play, shared team MVP honors with Toppin. Watson, Mikesell, Landers and guard Rodney Chatman all played key roles.

A glorious ride

As the Flyers rose in the rankings, their fans reacted with a mix of confidence that this team really was that good and a quiet dread that it could all come crashing down. Dayton had a potentially great team a dozen years ago with star guard Brian Roberts and hometown blue-chip freshman Chris Wright. The Flyers reached No. 14 in the polls. Then Wright got hurt and the season went pfffft.

Not this time. If they didnt rout opponents from the start, they usually had a spurt that left opponents in the dust. The Flyers cracked the top 10 in mid-January and kept moving all the way up to No. 3.

It seemed unfathomable. As much as Dayton fans wish their team was a perennial national power, most regard that as unrealistic. The Flyers face an uphill battle every year just trying to find power-conference teams willing to play them, especially at UD Arena.

I remember interviewing Oliver Purnell when he coached Dayton a couple of decades ago. Purnell led the Flyers out of the dark ages of the 1990s when they once went 4-26 (and still played in front of a mostly packed UD Arena).

In 2003, Purnells Flyers earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, UDs highest ever. I asked him what was realistic for the program. A national title, he said, to my surprise. After the Flyers were upset in the first round, Purnell bolted to Clemson. Obviously, he didnt believe it, either.

But this year, with no dominant teams in college basketball, maybe there was a chance. The offseason tragedies provided a subtext to the season that gave the success more weight.

In the regular-season finale against George Washington, the only ovation that rivaled those for the Flyers came when Ned Peppers bouncer Jeremy Ganger, who kept the gunman from entering the bar, was recognized during a timeout.

After the game, as players celebrated with their families and in front of fans who didnt want to leave, Chris Wright, now just a proud alum, soaked it all in.

Its unbelievable, he said. This is our pro basketball. No matter if we were 0-30 or 29-2, were here and its sold out.

Finally nothing

And then it was over. There would be no A-10 tournament, no March Madness for the Flyers.

In what has become a tragic and terrifying March with the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and large segments of the economy shut down, even the most ardent Dayton fan accepts that the cancellation of a basketball tournament is insignificant. Of course it is.

The disappointment of a dream season cut short seems trivial. Of course it is.

Perhaps the Flyers would have lost early in the tournament. Well never know. They never got the chance.

For a team that delivered beyond nearly everyones wildest expectations, for a city that needed such a salve so badly, that sting cant be erased entirely.

Even in the midst of all the real-world suffering happening seemingly in warp time, its all right to ache a bit for what, just maybe, might have been.

brabinowitz@dispatch.com

@brdispatch

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Daytons dream basketball season ended abruptly, leaving fans to wonder what might have happened - The Columbus Dispatch

Lettuce Health Benefits: HEREs how this veggie aids in weight loss and boosting immune system – PINKVILLA

Posted: March 29, 2020 at 8:47 pm

Lettuce is a potential source of Vitamin A, K and C. It aids in weight loss, weight management and improving immune system. Check out the health benefits and some healthy recipes of this vegetable.

Lettuce is popularly known as a salad vegetable the leaves of which are the prime ingredients for the salad recipe. The crispy leaves of this veggie is also an important part for burgers and sandwiches. Health-conscious people even like to have it raw or with some dips. A salad or a burger is never ready without this leafy vegetable.

Lettuce is an annual plant of the daisy family Asteraceae. It is mostly grown as a leafy veggie but its stem and seeds are also used sometimes. Lettuce has also religious and medicinal significance in some countries. Earlier, Europe and North America used to dominate the Lettuce market but later its popularity spread all around the world. This veggie is highly beneficial for health as its rich in Vitamin K and Vitamin A. Lettuce is also helpful for weight loss and weight management.

History of LettuceLettuce is considered to be an ancient vegetable the history of which dates back to 2680 BC. It was first cultivated by ancient Egyptians and used as a weed to extract oil from it.

Heres how Lettuce aids in weight loss and weight management.

Low in calorie

100 gm lettuce has only 15 calories. Being a negative calorie food, lettuce can burn more calories in the digestion process than the amount of calories this veggie contains.

Zero cholesterolLike most of the vegetables, lettuce also has zero cholesterol, saturated and unsaturated fat.

Contains high water contentLettuce is 96 percent water by its weight which makes it more filling than any other veggies. Iceberg lettuce has an almost equal amount of water as cucumbers.

Controls blood sugar levelsLettuce has Lactucaxanthin which is considered to be an anti-diabetic carotenoid. It is highly effective in regulating blood sugar levels. Lettuce can also regulate cravings and hunger pangs by improving the blood sugar levels. Hence, lettuce is also considered to be helpful for a diabetic diet.

Some of the healthy recipes with Lettuce1- Romaine lettuce salad

2- Broccoli and Lettuce Salad

3- Pineapple and lettuce salad

4- Greek salad with lettuce

5-Chicken Caesar pasta salad

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Lettuce Health Benefits: HEREs how this veggie aids in weight loss and boosting immune system - PINKVILLA

’90 Day Fiance’: Narkyia Reveals This Isn’t First Pregnancy Since Weight Loss Surgery – Soap Dirt

Posted: March 29, 2020 at 8:47 pm

90 Day Fiance alum Narkyia Lathan Shodipe revealed to fans that this isnt her first pregnancy since her weight loss surgery last year. What else did she say? Weve got the inside scoop here, so keep reading.

Just recently,90 Day FiancesNarkyia Lathan Shodipe dropped the big news that she is pregnant with husband Olulowo Shodipes baby. This comes just after her dramatic shedding of around 100 pounds.

Due to Narkyia Lathans age (she just turned 41), and the fact that her son Malcolm was a high-risk pregnancy, her current one is high-risk as well. Narkyia will probably have a scheduled C-section when the time comes.

Narkyias proud to say that all her blood test results came back normal, except for vitamin D. Thats to be expected because vitamin D is made by getting out in the sun. But, the weather hasnt been so great in Pennsylvania, where the 90 Day Fiance reality star resides with her husband and kids.

Because of the risks that come with her pregnancy,90 Day Fiance celebrity Narkyia Lathan Shodipe was getting early ultrasounds. That is how she found out the gender so quickly.

Narkyia admits she and husband Olulowo (aka Lowo) werent intending to get pregnant. She says even before her gastric sleeve surgery, she was very fertile. The 90 Day Fiance celeb had her surgery performed in Mexico as American doctors wouldnt see her),

And after the operation, Narkyia Lathan Shodipe was even more fertile. In fact, this isnt the first time in the last year that she fell pregnant.

Despite turning the big 4-1, Narkyia had to cancel a birthday cruise trip this week due to the coronavirus. Instead, she spent a quiet birthday in the house with her loved ones. Understandable, considering the state of the world now and the fact that shes carrying a baby.

But thats not the only birthday her family is missing out on. Kyia says Malcolms 16th birthday is next week as well, so its looking to be another low-key celebration.

In the meantime, Narkyias feeling cooped up, but shes not going to go outside unless absolutely necessary to protect her unborn child. She plans on doing IG live to do Zumba with her viewers and play pranks on her family.

If you want to read more about your favorite90 Day Fiance stars, then keep checking back with Soap Dirt.

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'90 Day Fiance': Narkyia Reveals This Isn't First Pregnancy Since Weight Loss Surgery - Soap Dirt

Weight Loss Market 2020-2026 by Research Methodology, Industry Current Trends, Application, Opportunities, Top Manufacturers and Forecast Report -…

Posted: March 29, 2020 at 8:47 pm

Global Weight Loss market report on material, application, and geography global forecast to 2026.It is a professional and in-depth analyzed research report on the worlds major regional market conditions, the report also explores the major industry players in detail as well as company profile, product specifications, capacity, and production value.

The report forecast global Weight Loss market to grow to reach xxx Million USD in 2020 with a CAGR of xx% during the period 2020-2026.The report offers detailed coverage of Weight Loss industry and main market trends. The market research includes historical and forecast market data, demand, application details, price trends, and company shares of the leading Weight Loss by geography. The report splits the market size, by volume and value, on the basis of application type and geography.

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The key players covered in this study

The scope of the Global Weight Loss Report:

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Market segment by Type, the product can be split intoFitness EquipmentCardiovascular Training EquipmentStrength Training EquipmentFitness Monitoring EquipmentBody Composition AnalyzersSurgical EquipmentMinimally Invasive Surgical EquipmentNoninvasive Surgical Equipment

Market segment by Application, split intoManWoman

Important Aspects of Weight Loss Report:

Why To Select This Report:

Complete analysis on market dynamics, market status and competitive Weight Loss view is offered.

Forecast Global Weight Loss Industry trends will present the market drivers, constraints and growth opportunities.

The five-year forecast view shows how the market is expected to grow in coming years.

All vital Global Weight Loss Industry verticals are presented in this study like Product Type, Applications and Geographical Regions.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Market Overview

Part 2 Global Market Status and Future Forecast

Part 3 Asia-Pacific Market Status and Future Forecast

Part 4 Asia-Pacific Market by Geography

Part 5 Europe Market Status and Future Forecast

Part 6 Europe Market by Geography

Part 7 North America Market Status and Future Forecast

Part 8 North America Market by Geography

Part 9 South America Market Status and Future Forecast

Part 10 South America Market by Geography

Part 11 Middle East & Africa Market Status and Future Forecast

Part 12 Middle East & Africa Market by Geography

Part 13 Key Companies

Part 14 Conclusion

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Orian Research provides customization of reports as per your need. This report can be personalized to meet your requirements. Get in touch with our sales team, who will guarantee you to get a report that suits your necessities

About Us:Orian Research is one of the most comprehensive collections of market intelligence reports on the World Wide Web. Our reports repository boasts of over 500000+ industry and country research reports from over 100 top publishers. We continuously update our repository so as to provide our clients easy access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, and products. We also specialize in custom research in situations where our syndicate research offerings do not meet the specific requirements of our esteemed clients.

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Weight Loss Market 2020-2026 by Research Methodology, Industry Current Trends, Application, Opportunities, Top Manufacturers and Forecast Report -...

Muskmelon Health Benefits: From Weight Loss to Hair Growth, Here Are Five Reasons Why You Should Include – LatestLY

Posted: March 29, 2020 at 8:47 pm

Health Benefits of Musk Melon (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

In a matter of a few weeks' time, we will enter into summer and with that, we will have to bring about changes in food eating pattern. In winters, we mostly eat foods that help us keep warm from the inside and make our body immune system strong. While in summer, we will eat foods that will aid in keeping the body hydrated. Having said that, let us speak about the health benefits of muskmelon or cantaloupe melon, which include weight loss and hair growth.Too Lazy to Drink Water? Eat These 5 Foods With High Water Content to Stay Hydrated in Summer.

As per the data of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), 100 g of muskmelon provides 34 kcal energy which consists of 90.15 g water, 8.16 g carbohydrate, 267 mg potassium, 36.7 mg Vitamin C and fibre 0.9 g. Apart from this, muskmelon is loaded with antioxidants and is also rich in beta-carotene. The botanical name of muskmelon is Cucumis melo and this juicy aromatic fruit is one of the most loved and cultivated fruits in India.

Health Benefits of Muskmelon

1. Aids in Weight Loss -Muskmelon contains a good amount of potassium which helps in weight management and most importantly, it mostly contains water which keeps the body full and, thereby, helps avoid overeating. Also, the glycemic load of muskmelon is quite low compared to other fruits.

2. Improves Eyesight -Cantaloupe melon comes along with Vitamin A, which strengthens the eye muscle, and alsozeaxanthin which helps in improving eye vision.

3. Helps Treat Insomnia -Eating muskmelon regularly can relax the nerves and muscles of the brain which can aid in suppressing sleeping disorder like insomnia.

4. Good For Immune System -Musk melon contains an adequate amount of Vitamin C, which enhances the production of white blood cells. This, in turn, leadsto the destroying ofdangerous bacteria, viruses, and other toxic substances.

5. Helps in Hair Growth -Since musk melon consists of Vitamin A, it can help in hair growth. Vitamin A helps in the production of sebum, which is the oily secretion of the sebaceous glands present under the scalp. This aids in hair growth, at the same time, keeping it well moisturised.

Apart from these above-mentioned benefits, muskmelons also help fight constipation and cure the ulcer problem. Now you have multiple reasons to eat muskmelon and by no means should you ignore this fruit, as it is beneficial for overall health development.

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Muskmelon Health Benefits: From Weight Loss to Hair Growth, Here Are Five Reasons Why You Should Include - LatestLY


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