Choosing to add certain types of food to your diet can benefit your cardiovascular health.

Published: April, 2020

Looking to keep your heart in top shape? You need to feed it well, by choosing nutritious foods that help keep your arteries clear and protect against damage. Researchers have consistently found that opting for a Mediterranean-style diet rich in fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and healthy fats is best for cardiovascular health, says Teresa Fung, adjunct professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. With this in mind, she recommends aiming to put some specific heart-healthy options on your plate each day. Here are five foods you can add to your diet to benefit your heart.

Drizzle it over a salad, or use it to saut an assortment of colorful vegetables; either way, this oil has a proven track record when it comes to your heart health. Olive oil is loaded with monounsaturated fatty acids, which can help lower your "bad" LDL cholesterol. Extra-virgin olive oil is also rich in antioxidants, which work in your body to prevent damage caused by unstable molecules called free radicals that can harm cells, including those that make up the walls of your arteries. When the arterial walls are damaged, it's easier for fatty deposits to stick and form blood-blocking plaques, says Fung. So, keeping them healthy should be a priority.

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Keto evangelists have popularized the high fat, low carb diet as a lifestyle. But for the majority of people, the keto diet is restrictive, making it hard to maintain.

Now Speed Keto, an even more extreme form of keto, has arrived on the diet scene.

The newest twist on keto promises to tap into the bodys fat-burning system faster by integrating a controlled version of fasting.

Its common for people to pair the keto diet with intermittent fasting, usually 16:8, which means someone only eats during an 8-hour window each day and fasts for 16 hours.

Speed Keto takes this further by advocating for one meal a day. The meal should be keto-approved, of course.

Potential weight loss is the primary selling point for a majority of the keto curious. Its also been found to lower the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, but it may have negative health effects for other people.

We asked two nutrition experts to review Speed Ketos protocols for benefits and dangers and answer the question: Should you try this diet?

Speed Keto is a means of achieving faster ketosis and was created by Harlan Kilstein, who is not a medical professional or nutrition pro, but a coach, said Cynthia Thurlow, NP, who specializes in nutrition and intermittent fasting.

The Speed Keto program is similar to the traditional keto diet in that it requires individuals to eat a high fat, low carb diet.

Similarly, it also focuses on putting the body in ketosis, a metabolic state when your body burns fat instead of glucose for energy. When your body is in ketosis, its basically a fat-burning machine, thus giving keto its reputation as a weight loss tool.

The difference with Speed Keto? You can only eat one meal a day. The meal should follow the traditional keto guidelines of high fat and low carb macronutrients.

Its main goal is to attempt to become fat-adapted faster than a more traditional ketogenic diet, Thurlow told Healthline.

Fasting can help speed the process of getting into ketosis, explained Tony Castillo, MS, RDN, LDN, nutrition consultant for RSP Nutrition.

It can typically take 2 to 4 days to enter ketosis if you have less than 50 grams of carbs per day, he continued, pointing out that several factors, from what you eat to age and activity level, can extend the amount of time it takes to enter ketosis.

Even though you may enter fat-burning ketosis more quickly on Speed Keto, seeing a lower number on the scale might be misleading.

Since the traditional keto and Speed Keto focus on [eating] fats, your body will excrete more water because fats do not like water. This means the weight loss you see is most likely water weight or even muscle weight, not true fat loss, Castillo said.

While you might enter ketosis more quickly, the experts we talked to mention several downsides to Speed Keto.

Diet programs like these are typically unsustainable and can be challenging to follow long term, Castillo said.

Even just sticking to keto protocols when youre dining out with friends can be challenging. With Speed Keto, dieters face the added test of only eating one meal a day.

Castillo also points out long-term effects of the keto diet, and therefore Speed Keto, are unknown.

Its also important to review your health goals before choosing a program. For example, Speed Keto and the traditional keto diet can make it more difficult to build muscle.

Its also likely to give you the keto flu, temporary flu-like symptoms caused by going into ketosis, and make you feel lethargic.

According to Thurlow, Speed Keto is not a healthy or sustainable nutritional philosophy and should only be considered short term, if at all.

My concern would be that most people would get insufficient macros in during their feeding window, and that could contribute to muscle breakdown, such as catabolism or sarcopenia, and stressors to the thyroid, adrenals, or sex hormones, Thurlow said.

[This diet] is highly bio-individual, meaning that everyone has different factors that can make this a successful or unsuccessful strategy, she said.

Beyond keto protocols, the one meal a day (OMAD) requirement doesnt work for everyone.

Thurlow notes that while there are people who thrive on OMAD, many cannot get all of their macros for an entire day in one meal, and others are way too full and uncomfortable consuming that much food in one sitting.

In addition to the physical effects, the cycle of fasting then eating a large meal may not be good for some peoples mental health.

When diet programs incorporate intermittent fasting, its important to consider past eating history, as intermittent fasting may not be ideal for someone with a history of binge eating disorder, Castillo pointed out.

If youve identified that the intermittent fasting or OMAD elements of Speed Keto work well for you, know that you could apply it to a more balanced diet, too.

Intermittent fasting can be combined with most nutrition programs with great success, not just keto, Thurlow said.

See more here:
Speed Keto One Meal a Day: What You Should Know About This Diet - Healthline

The New York Post calls it the Quarantine 15. As insensitive as it sounds to worry about gaining weight while working from home when people are getting sick andare worried about loved ones, it's our responsibility to stay strong and healthy, to take care of others. And part of being healthy is choosing healthy foods, exercising, andnot stress-eating our way through this crisis.

If mynumber of trips to the kitchen is any indication,15 is the least of what I'm likely to gain. I literally have not stopped eating since I moved my work to my home last week. Breakfast generally starts out okay,of a little granola and almond milk (unsweetened) but then by mid-morning I am pulling out the chips, leftover (plant-based) pasta with Gardein crumbles, vegan party mix, and before I know it I've eaten the equivalent of four or five meals before 4 p.m.

What? How did I let this happen? Every day I resolve to do better, make a healthy protein-packed, green and berry smoothie, and I start out feeling like I have the best of intentions. And every day, whether on conference calls or just sittingwriting and editing, answering emails or straightening up (I do a lot of that), I find myself traipsing back to the cupboard, looking for something healthy, reaching for something carb-ladenlikethe bag oftortilla chips that never seems to go into the garbage. Salty, stale and crunchy, they hit the spot.

For help in this situation (I can't even blame stress eating, since I think it's more "bored eating" I sent a plaintive missive asking for "help" to my new favorite diet doctor, Dr. Jason, Fung, MD, anephrologist (kidney specialist) and one of the world's leading Intermittent Fasting experts, who has written three best-selling health books and founder of The Fasting Method. His newest book, Life in the Fasting Lane,co-authored with Eve Mayer and Megan Ramos, tells you everything you need to know to use this technique to get to and maintain a healthy weight and stay energized.

Dr. Fung's first interview with The Beethad put me on the right track. I started eating during a window between about 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and then not eating for the other 16 hours on the clock. This method helped me slim down, fit into my jeans better and find myself with more energy and focus. I don't weigh myself but I can always tell how my maintenance plan is doing by how myclothing fits.

The Intermittent Fasting method helped me fit into my jeans better, without craving junk foodand this way of eating lets me feel like I was in total control of my body, my diet, and my health. I have never been a keto dieter, but IF is the most searched term of the past year, so it's safe to say more people are using IF, either with or without their keto approach, because it works.

Then, I put myself on what feels like house arrest. It's isolating and food is small comfort. So is babysitting my brother's snuggly Italian Sheep Dog, Bonnie. She actually creates a distraction and keeps me calm and less bored, so I end up eating less when I am watching her, which would be my tip. Dog sit!

Yesterday I did not exit out of myfour rooms all day. Which meant more time to circle past the kitchen and pantry for snacks. So here is what Dr. Fung has to share. And what I share with you. The idea is to put me back on track and help you avoid the inevitable desire to eat our way through the lockdown.

1. Drink Tea, and lots of it!"I've been self-isolating and drinking lots of tea. The antioxidants in green tea may suppress the appetite, but it gives me something to 'do' instead of eating. I've replaced a bad habit with a harmless habit. I have gone back to drinking tea like an Asian, which is to brew a pot of tea and keep sipping it throughout the day."

"When it is finished, I simply add more hot water to the tea leaves. I use a cup with a lid that keeps the tea hot. This is actually what I used to do as a student, when I spent many hours in my room studying, and the way my parents drink tea. I've also been changing up tea flavors every now and then. Pique Tea has some great fasting teas (I helped them develop them) with flavors like Bergamot Green and Cinnamon."

2. Stay busy."The key question to ask yourself is this: Are you hungry or are you just bored? Most of the time, we are simply bored, and that has us scrounging around the kitchen for lack of something to do. I bought myself a paint by numbers kit (surprisingly relaxing) and downloaded two ebooks from the library. I subscribed tochess.comand decided that I would try to learn the game, which I've always meant to do, but never had time for. I've also decided to spend a bit more time working out."

3. Stay out of the kitchen."Whatever you do, do NOT do your work or read or calls, etc. in the kitchen. That's an open invitation to snack. I like to go into my study and allow my natural laziness to keep me from going into the kitchen. My other favorite thing to do is to snuggle up in a warm blanket to read or watch a movie, and my natural reluctance to get out of my warm 'nest' overcome my inclination to snack."

4. Don't snack. Stick to eat in windows. Meaning set a time when you are allowing yourself to eat, and then another time window when you are not eating. Every time you snack you cause your body to produce some insulin, which we know is a major driver of weight gain. Eat those almonds but eat them with your lunch or dinner, not in between.Hunger comes in waves, so justride them out! If you feel hungry, try to distract yourself by doing something you've been puttingoff in your house like hanging a shelf or cleaning out a closet. Not only will your hunger pass, but you'll also feel relief from being able to organize your clutter!

5. Stay connected. We might have to practice social distancing in person, but that doesn't affect how we interact on the web. Connect with online communities to keep you feeling motivated. Dr. Fung and Megan Ramos offer support through their community,The Fasting Method. They offer live and interactive support groups as well as eating and fasting group challenges that are sensitive to what's going on.

6. Have a glass of water. Before you reach for something to eat,when you feel a hunger pang, drink a glass of water. We often mistake thirst for hunger. Many people find that carbonated or mineral water is especially good at suppressing appetite.

7. Practice stress reduction. Breathe, Meditate, do Yoga.with activities like deep breathing, yoga, and mediation instead of reaching for the pantry. These are stressful times and you may not even realize that you're thinking about your job, your paycheck, the market, the economy, and how long all this will last. If you are stressing you are sending cortisol through your body and that can lead you to self-soothe with carbs and other serotonin-boosting foods. Yes, there are reasons to be stressed, but being unhealthy or eating bad food won't help. Breathe. To alleviate stress before it starts, create a daily routine and stick with it. Having a routine reduces stress on the body, which can keep cravings for comfort foods at bay.

Okay. I am trying these tips!Letmeknowyour bestadviceabout staying healthy during theCOVID-19 lockdown in the comments below. I would love to hear them. I need to hear them. And of course, stay healthy out there! Write and lend me your best tipswe may even publish themat info@thebeet.com.

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Worried about gaining weight during coronavirus isolation? - The Beet

While staying healthy should be your number one prerogative right now, it is also a good time to take stock of your weight loss and fitness goals. If you are confined to working from home, include these 10 exercises as a part of your daily routine to stay fit, and if youre looking for some weight loss motivation, keep scrolling to read 25-year-old Arjun Guptas inspiring weight loss journey.

Gupta tells us that at his heaviest, he weighed 100 kg and was prompted to get in the best shape of his life after he came back from a vacation and found everyone around him discussing their fitness plans and healthy lifestyle goals. I weigh 68 kg now. I lost 32 kg in 7 months by following the below weight loss plan and making simple changes in my daily life.

I was able to lose weight with a combination of both dieting and exercising."

My earlier diet was full of carbohydrates and sugar. I never exercised. But now, sugar (artificial) is out of my diet. I workout 6 days in the week and also weigh myself every single day in the morning just before I head to the shower.

Weighing myself every single day helped me understand what were the things that I was doing (and eating) correctly and what was not working for me. I held myself accountable if my weight on a given particular day was significantly higher than the previous day's weight - this helped me avoid eating out as well because I knew that if I ate out, the next morning I would see an increased number on the weighing scale. This self-accountability helped me a lot in my journey along with the below workout plan.

I began with gymming for 2.5-3 hours daily. This included 1 hour of walking. I began with slow walks on the treadmill, then slow running, then fast running. This finally led to - 20 minutes running + 40 minutes walk + 20 minutes cycling.

QUICK READ: Expert tips on how to start running everyday -- and its benefits

Post this, I did simple weight training and 50 squats, 50 toe-touch and 50 sit-ups. Apart from my cardio and weight training, I usually clock in 17-18000 steps on any given day. So that helps as well!

He also breaks down all the changes he made in his diet plan, below.

I began with avoiding artificial sugar. Tea/Coffee were to be consumed without sugar which was too hard in the beginning. Chocolates/pastries/cakes/ice creams/chips/biscuits/soft drinks were totally stopped. I increased the fruit and vegetable content in my food as well. This is what my diet comprised:

Breakfast: I began with having 1 banana, 4-5 blackberries and plain cold milk in the morning followed by coffee without sugar before lunch.

Lunch: One bowl of yogurt, salad, 2 chapatis and 1.5 cups of protein like dal/soybean vegetable.

Dinner: Salad or sandwich.

Self-accountability is crucial. Also, while having a cheat meal, the only person being cheated is YOU. A cheat meal can spoil the entire week's efforts. So try and avoid cheat meals as much as you can. Push yourself and you will reach your goal.

Disclaimer: The fitness journey, diet and workout routines shared by the respondents are purely for inspirational purposes and in no way intend to propagate a specific body type. Please consult an authorised medical professional before following any specific diet or workout routine mentioned above.

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Maybe now, due to restrictions on some activities, there are some goals you can't pursue. But for others, this could be an ideal time to work on yourself.

You suddenly have the opportunity to spend more time exercising outside, to pick up the book you've been meaning to read or get your attic organized. If your goal has been to eat a healthier diet, you can now focus on learning how to nurture yourself with homemade meals instead of gravitating toward sugary snacks at work.

While it can be hard to find and maintain the motivation to make a habit stick, experts have some motivational secrets to propel you through the quicksand of inertia to achieve your goals.

Finding motivation

"Rewards are not always enough, because when we move on from deciding to do [something], our focus changes," said Agata Ludwiczak, lead author of the study and research fellow from Queen Mary University of London.

"When deciding, we tend to concentrate on and base our decisions on rewards. When executing an action, we switch our attention to the effort required," Ludwiczak said. "If this effort is more than we anticipated, we might abandon the task, deciding it's not worth it."

To investigate the relationship between effort and reward, researchers presented participants with an exercise of physical effort (squeezing a joystick), and a form of mental effort (solving mathematical equations). They were also presented with combinations of high or low effort and high or low financial rewards and asked to choose which they wanted to attempt.

The study found that although participants were guided by high effort and high financial reward, their performance ultimately depended on the amount of effort they had to expend rather than their initial desire for that reward.

The authors hypothesize that the parts of the brain involved in reward processing seem to be particularly active during choice, but less active during execution.

To combat this mental tendency and achieve a goal, the study's results suggest following two steps: First, when deciding between goals, consider how much work each option involves so you're mentally ready for the degree of difficulty. Second, when things get hard as we work toward our goal, we should focus on the end reward, rather than the effort.

Imagining the reward in these moments can help you to push through when you need the help.

What could also work at this stage is distraction -- taking your mind off effort and focusing on something else -- or giving yourself small rewards as you exert effort, Ludwiczak said.

"Some people already intuitively implement this advice -- they listen to music when studying or exercising, which provides distraction and immediate rewards," Ludwiczak said.

Keeping the fire burning

After you've finally accomplished your goal, getting hit by life's problems can make it difficult to stay on track and remember why you started working toward your goal in the first place.

Dopamine release creates feelings of satisfaction and reward, which motivate you to repeat a specific behavior.

Inflammation may alter dopamine by depleting an enzyme called BH4, which helps regulate functions of the heart, brain, gut and reproductive systems, and is also essential for the synthesis of dopamine, the report said.

In this way, it's not that the reward becomes less valuable or alluring -- it's that inflammation may reduce the amount of effort the brain expends by increasing the perceived cost of the effort itself. In this case, motivation becomes less related to a matter of preference -- "Will I?" -- and more related to perceived ability -- "Can I?"

Studies testing the strengthening or reduction of dopamine in humans have shown "a real shift in an individual's willingness to expend efforts for rewards," said Michael Treadway, author of the study, a clinical psychologist and associate professor in Emory University's Department of Psychology.

Engaging in these activities and eating a healthy diet can set you off on a cycle in which being healthier helps you to stay motivated and vice versa.

Hitting goals on a continuous loop

Finding a reward you want to aim for is key in maintaining motivation, Ludwiczak said, as we want rewards, but usually not at all costs, so making sure we don't waste our effort is important.

"Think about hiking," she said. "When you're setting out on an adventure, you need your backpack, supplies and equipment, but you also need a compass to tell you where you're heading. Without one or the other it is not likely to be a very successful trip."

By putting in effort every day, reminding yourself of the rewards when life gets rough and utilizing diets or activities that raise your dopamine levels, you may increase your chances of staying motivated, turning tasks from difficult to doable, even during a global pandemic.

Read more:
Motivation: How to get it, keep it and use it, even during a pandemic when you may need it most - CNN

The Alabama Bright Light series is taking a different approach during the COVID-19 crisis. Were talking with experts who can offer advice on things we may not consider in these days of school and business closings and self-sequestering.

Auburn University Nutrition Specialist Katie Funderburk said good nutrition is crucial during the pandemic.

Plenty of foods will boost your immune system. Funderburk said. Theres no one food that will do that. Instead, a varied diet with balanced food groups is the best way to stay healthy, especially during such a crisis.

As part of her job, Funderburk works with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

We have an office in every county of the state, and during this challenging time we are working online and disseminating the information that way, she said. We are all working remotely to support social distancing and to ensure that we are prepared.

Funderburk stresses that cooking for yourself is usually healthier than eating sourced food or picking up from a restaurant.

A big reason a lot of people dont cook is because they dont have time. Right now, time is a resource we actually have a lot of, Funderburk said. A great use of this extra time would be to help your kids get involved in the kitchen. Research shows that if kids help prepare something, theyre more likely to eat it as well as develop a preference for those healthy foods.

Auburn University nutritionist Katie Funderburk offers healthy eating tips during COVID-19 crisis from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System website, http://www.aces.edu, has lots of nutrition and cooking information, such as:

When caring for a sick family member while quarantined, keep a steady supply of tummy-friendly foods. Remember to follow your physicians dietary orders at all times. Foods that can be introduced as permitted include clear liquids and broth, ice pops and gelatin snack cups, electrolyte replacement drinks, dry toast, saltine crackers and pretzels, bananas, white rice and unsweetened applesauce.

When people heed professional advice about eating well and dealing with emergencies like COVID-19, Funderburk feels she has done her job.

Hearing stories from the community about how the work that weve done has helped children eat more fruits and vegetables, and how weve helped families afford healthy food on a budget, it makes it all worthwhile, she said.

Alabama Bright Lights captures the stories, through words, pictures and video, of some of our states brightest lights who are working to make Alabama an even better place to live, work and play. Award-winning journalist Karim Shamsi-Basha tells their inspiring stories. Email him comments, as well as suggestions on people to profile, at[emailprotected].

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Alabama Bright Light in the COVID-19 crisis: Advice from a nutritionist - Alabama NewsCenter

The right kind of inflammation is essential to your body's healing system. But chronic inflammation can be a problem.

Published: April, 2020

The saying "too much of a good thing" applies to much of life, but especially to inflammation.

"People think inflammation needs to be stomped out at all times, but it plays an essential role in healing and injury repair to keep your body safe and healthy," says Dr. Robert H. Shmerling, medical editor of Understanding Inflammation from Harvard Health Publishing and an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "Some inflammation is good. Too much is often bad. The goal is to recognize when inflammation is simply doing its job, and when it can potentially cause problems."

Signs of inflammation are like a car's dashboard engine light. It tells you that something is wrong. But your response is not to take out the bulb, because that's not the problem. Instead, you look at what caused the light to turn on. "It's the same with inflammation," says Dr. Shmerling. "It's telling you that something bigger is going on that requires attention."

There are two types of inflammation: acute and chronic. People are most familiar with acute inflammation. This is the redness, warmth, swelling, and pain around tissues and joints that occurs in response to an injury, like when you cut yourself. When the body is injured, your immune system releases white blood cells to surround and protect the area.

"Acute inflammation is how your body fights infections and helps speed up the healing process," says Dr. Shmerling. "In this way, inflammation is good because it protects the body." This process works the same if you have a virus like a cold or the flu.

In contrast, when inflammation gets turned up too high and lingers for a long time, and the immune system continues to pump out white blood cells and chemical messengers that prolong the process, that's known as chronic inflammation. "From the body's perspective, it's under consistent attack, so the immune system keeps fighting indefinitely," says Dr. Shmerling.

When this happens, white blood cells may end up attacking nearby healthy tissues and organs. For example, if you are overweight and have more visceral fat cells the deep type of fat that surrounds your organs the immune system may see those cells as a threat and attack them with white blood cells. The longer you are overweight, the longer your body can remain in a state of inflammation.

Research has shown that chronic inflammation is associated with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, and bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Yet, because chronic inflammation can continue for a long time, it's not easy to know its exact impact. "It's a chicken-and-egg scenario," says Dr. Shmerling. "Does chronic inflammation increase the risk of these ailments, or is it a byproduct? It is not always clear."

Here are some other steps you can take to prevent and reduce chronic inflammation:

Most of the time, you don't need to worry too much about acute inflammation, says Dr. Shmerling. You can take an over-the-counter pain reliever to help relieve symptoms, or apply cold compresses to reduce swelling. "Otherwise, it is usually best to let the inflammation do its work to help with healing," says Dr. Shmerling.

Of course, the cause of acute inflammation may need treatment. For example, a bacterial infection may require antibiotics, so if you have a fever or significant symptoms such as severe pain or shortness of breath see your doctor.

Chronic inflammation is trickier to deal with. The problem is that chronic inflammation is often "invisible," since it does not show telltale physical signs the way acute inflammation does.

So how can you prevent or reduce inflammation you cannot necessarily see or feel?

The only way to detect chronic inflammation is to have an evaluation by your doctor. He or she will review your symptoms, perform a physical exam, and perhaps check your blood for signs of inflammation. (See "A test for inflammation.")

Otherwise, the best approach is to prevent conditions related to chronic inflammation. "It goes back to the basics: maintaining a healthy weight, choosing a good diet, getting plenty of sleep, and exercising regularly," says Dr. Shmerling.

How do you know if you have chronic inflammation? A blood test measures a protein produced by the liver, C-reactive protein (CRP), which rises in response to inflammation. A CRP level between 1 and 3 milligrams per liter of blood often signals a low, yet chronic, level of inflammation. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate is another blood test for inflammation. It is used for people with inflammatory conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis.

Diet and exercise have an especially strong impact on managing chronic inflammation since they both also can help control weight and improve sleep.

The evidence is not clear that a specific type of diet can prevent chronic inflammation. However, certain foods are associated with either promoting or inhibiting the inflammatory response. These foods also are linked to a lower risk of problems related to chronic inflammation, such as heart disease, weight gain, and cancer.

For instance, cut back or eliminate foods high in simple sugars like soda, fruit juices with added sugars, sports drinks, processed meat, and refined carbs like white bread and pasta. "These foods can spike blood sugar levels, which can lead to overeating and weight gain," says Dr. Shmerling.

Also, eat more foods high in the antioxidants known as polyphenols, which can lower inflammation. Examples include all types of berries, cherries, plums, red grapes, onions, turmeric, green tea, and dark green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale.

Regular exercise can help protect against conditions linked with chronic inflammation, especially heart disease and obesity. A 2017 study in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity found that just 20 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (in this case, walking on a treadmill) can have an anti-inflammatory effect.

Image: Mingirov/Getty Images

Disclaimer:As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

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Understanding acute and chronic inflammation - Harvard Health

The SQA will aim to get results out by August 4.

THE Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is aiming to certify pupil's grades and results by August 4, the chief examiner has revealed.

Fiona Robertson said the SQA is working on an alternative certification model so pupils are recognised for the work that they have done despite the cancellation of this year's exams in response to the coronavirus situation.

The news comes a day after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said schools will close on Friday.

Ms Roberston said: "This is an unprecedented situation, and the closure of schools for an extended period will affect almost every family across Scotland.

"The Scottish Qualifications Authority has recently been working through a range of scenarios in relation to the exam diet, including disruption and postponement.

"However, as the Deputy First Minister has outlined in parliament today, the exam diet in 2020 cannot go ahead and I have been asked by the Deputy First Minister to develop an alternative certification model.

"That work has started, at pace, and I will say more on that as soon as I can. What I can say now is that we want to ensure that we have as much information on the achievements of learners as possible.

"We will work to ensure that learners receive their results no later than August 4, as planned. We are considering more fully the impact this decision will have on our exceptional circumstances and post-results services.

"I fully appreciate that this will be an uncertain time for learners who have worked hard throughout the year and will now, with their families, be worried about what this means for them."

She added that schools and colleges have been asked to continue to work with young people to ensure that any units and coursework are completed and "estimated grades are provided by teachers, drawing on the available evidence gathered throughout the year".

Related article: Scottish Government confirms school exams scrapped in wake of coronavirus

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SQA aims to issue results to pupils by August 4 despite exams being cancelled due to coronavirus outbreak - Strathspey Herald

In 1979, Willie Stargell won the MVP award for the season, the MVP award for the National League Championship Series, and the MVP award for the World Series. Since Stargell was 39 years old in 1979, he became the oldest player to win the MVP award for the season, and at the end of that year, the Associated Press named him Male Athlete of the Year.

Stargell also holds the record for hitting the longest home runs in three different major league ballparks: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, and Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh. During the 1970s, he hit 296 home runs, the most of any other major leaguer during that decade. Stargell was inducted into the Major League Hall of Fame, featured on a postage stamp and honored by having a statue of him erected outside the Pirates baseball stadium.

After playing for the Chiefs in 1960, Stargell was promoted, in 1961, to Asheville, a Class A team in the South Atlantic League, along with his best friend, Gene Alley, and his other two outfield teammates, Rex Johnston and Reg Grenald. Now confident that he was a legitimate professional baseball player, and having added several more pounds of muscle, he became a highly regarded power hitter. Fans gave him the nickname On the Hill Will because of the long homers he hit onto a hillside far beyond the right-field fence.

During the season, Stargell hit 22 home runs, batted .289 and his team won the league championship. In 1962, he was promoted to Columbus, the Pirates' AAA franchise in the International League, along with Alley and Johnston. After hitting 27 home runs and batting .276 in 138 games, he was promoted to the Pittsburgh Pirates in mid-September.

On Sept. 16, Stargell played in his first major league game, and for the remainder of the season, he batted .290 in 31 times at bat. The Pirates' manager, Danny Murtaugh, was very impressed with Stargell and kept him on the roster as a reserve outfielder when the 1963 season began.

Soon after the start of the season, it became apparent that Murtaughs young outfielder could become an everyday player. On May 23, the Pirates traded their regular left fielder, Bob Skinner, to the Cincinnati Reds, and Stargell became his primary replacement. Pitchers later began to identify some of his weaknesses as a hitter, and his batting average slumped as the season progressed. He ended the season batting only .243, with 11 home runs in 108 games.

Superstar Roberto Clemente, Stargells fellow outfielder with the Pirates, became his mentor and worked with Stargell to become more aggressive, yet remain selective of the pitches he would swing at. Stargell asserted himself the following season (1964), raising his average 30 points, blasting 21 home runs, and appearing as a pinch-hitter in his first of seven All-Star Games.

The 1965 and 1966 seasons were good examples of the kind of player Stargell was becoming. In 1965, he hit 27 home runs, drove in 107 runs and hit for a .272 average. In 1966, he hit 33 home runs, drove in 102 runs and batted .315.

However, over the winter he put on 20 pounds more than what was considered his ideal 215-pound playing weight, and his manager put him on a crash diet that sapped him of much of his strength. Stargells statistics dropped to 20 home runs, 73 runs batted in and a batting average of .271. Perhaps because of the confusion as to what his weight should be, Stargells batting average dipped to .237 in 1968.

Pie Traynor, a former Pirates shortstop of the 1920s and '30s, said to the press that the manager needed to stop worrying about Stargells weight and leave him alone, and word got back to the manager, who took his advice. Another bit of valuable advice came from Clemente, Stargells mentor, who encouraged him to use a heavier bat.

On Aug. 5, 1969, in Los Angeles, Stargell hit the ball 507 feet, becoming the first player to ever hit a ball out of Dodger Stadium, and he batted .307 for the season.

In the midseason of 1970, Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh became the new ballpark for the Pirates. The stadium was a much better fit for Stargell since the outfield fences were not as distant from home plate as they had been in Forbes Field, the previous ballpark. On Aug. 1, two weeks after Three Rivers Stadium opened, Stargell tied a major league record when he had five extra-base hits in a single game. He had three doubles and two home runs that day.

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Another incentive for Stargell that year was the return of Murtaugh as his manager. In 1971, his first full season in the new home park, Stargell began the season by hitting 11 home runs in the month of April, tying a National League record. On June 25, his home run off of Philadelphias pitcher, Jim Bunning, became the longest home run ever hit at Veterans Stadium. Stargell ended the regular season leading the National League in home runs with 48 and he also drove in 125 runs. The Pirates repeated as National League champions, but unlike 1970, they went on to win the World Series.

During the early 1970s, Stargell became one of the most feared hitters in baseball, but in 1975, he broke his ribs and it caused him great pain to swing the bat. Then in 1976, his wife, Delores, was stricken with a brain aneurysm and spent six weeks in a coma. Stargell said, I couldnt concentrate. I could only see Delores with all this equipment strapped on her and my mind drifted quite a bit.

Because of a nagging elbow injury, Stargell only played in 63 games in 1977. Primarily because of these circumstances, Stargell was unable to play as well during those three seasons.

In 1978, Stargell revived his career, batting .295 with 28 home runs and 97 runs batted in, and he was named National League Comeback Player of the Year. Stargell had become the motivational leader for the Pirates and his teammates began calling him Pops. He brought the team together with the cohesive song, We Are Family.

Because of his leadership and hitting, Stargell won MVP co-honors with Keith Hernandez in 1979 as the Pirates won the National League East Championship. In a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, they won the National League Championship with Stargell hitting .455, and he was named MVP. Then, in a seven-game World Series against the Baltimore Orioles, Stargell collected 25 total bases, a World Series record. The Pirates won the series, and Stargell was again named MVP.

Stargell played for three more years with the Pirates, but because of recurring injuries, he was never able to be an everyday ballplayer. He retired after the 1982 season and became a coach for the Atlanta Braves, and as his health began to decline, he served as a roving minor league batting instructor for the Braves. In 1988, in his first year of eligibility, Stargell was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and he was also the only player elected that year.

After a number of years of suffering from serious health issues, Wilver Donnel Stargell died on April 9, 2001. Days before his death in 2001, a 12-foot, 1-ton bronze statue in Stargells likeness was unveiled near the left field entrance to PNC Park, the new ballpark for the Pirates.

In May 2012, the U.S. Postal Service announced that, in July, they would begin selling All-Stars Forever stamps featuring major league baseball greats Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Larry Doby and Willie Stargell. At that time, they also launched a pre-order stamp competition to see which player would generate the most orders. Stargell came out on top with 8,220,355 total orders, a fitting testimony of how much Americans appreciated Willie Stargell.

Did You Know That is written by Curt Eriksmoen and edited by Jan Eriksmoen of Fargo. Send your comments, corrections, or suggestions for columns to the Eriksmoens at cjeriksmoen@cableone.net.

Curt Eriksmoen, Did You Know That? columnist

Link:
Eriksmoen: The only MLB player to win 3 MVPs in one season previously played for a North Dakota team - Grand Forks Herald

Deanna Harder, a CSEP (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology) certified personal trainer in Edmonton poses for a picture at Custom Fit Training in Edmonton on March 18, 2020. Derek Van Diest / Postmedia

It is being called the Quarantine 15 in social media circles: the weight some are expecting to gain during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With gyms and leisure centres throughout Edmonton closed, there is concern self-isolation will be detrimental to an active lifestyle.

According to some fitness experts, however, that doesnt have to be the case, with numerous types of home workouts available.

I want to let everybody know that your body isnt made or broken in a few weeks or a few months, said Deanna Harder, a CSEP (Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology) certified personal trainer in the city. So just like building muscle takes years and years and years, atrophy in muscle is going to take a little bit of time. Its not going to happen overnight.

You can maintain your body fitness by body-weight exercise or light dumbbell work and just by keeping your stress low and managing your nutrition. You dont need to be going hard every day. I like to tell people, youre not going to make or break your body in a few weeks of not hitting the gym hard. In fact, your body may welcome the change of pace and the change of stimulus. Your gains are not going to be lost in a couple of weeks of staying home.

Harder understands these are stressful times for everyone with the uncertainty ahead due to the world-wide pandemic. Physical activity helps alleviate stress at the best of times and when it is taken away in the form of facility closures, it may only add to anxiety.

The thing is, the first couple days, you might want to eat a little bit of extra chocolate and sugar because youre stressed out and because its like a snow day, Harder said. You can treat it as a little bit of a holiday, a little bit of a staycation, but then weve got to get some structure in our day, like having a healthy breakfast and getting into a regular routine; your showering routine, put on your makeup, put on your clothes, make yourself feel better, your self-esteem will really appreciate that.

And then add in a structured workout starting as soon as you feel good again. There might be a few days where, like my myself, Ive stocked up on a few bottles of wine and some dark chocolate because I also know that comfort is something we all need right now and this isnt going to last forever. If we cant be out in the in the world working on our fitness at a big global gym, why not take this time to focus on nutrition and focus on eating healthier.

Jeff Woods, owner of Custom Fit Training in Edmonton poses for a photo on March 18, 2020. Derek Van Diest / Postmedia

A key issue with self-isolation at home is the access to food at all times. Maintaining a healthy diet is key to fighting off the Quarantine 15. It is fine to stock up on chips and frozen pizza, but as is the case under regular circumstances, moderation is important when trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Whether youre exercising or not, if youre being rational about your intake of calories, youre not going to put on copious amounts of weight, said Jeff Woods, owner of Custom Fit Training. Obviously, we still want people to exercise and you can do that going outside not being in highly populated situations. Be one with nature; that still works.

You can do bodyweight training programs, you can look at virtual options, go online, theres a million options on YouTube. I hate to sort of pass the buck, and as a professional trainer we can certainly pass on good information to people online as well, but there are some really incredible home programs that you can you can pick up the internet, and itll work just fine.

Custom Fit is a small gym catering to clients interested in one-one-one personal training. They, too, will be hit hard financially as the province attempts to get through the outbreak by practicing social distancing.

If there are any positives to be taken out of self-isolation, it may be an opportunity to change a fitness routine. Gains are often difficult to make if a routine becomes too repetitive.

Elite-level athletes work on what we call a periodization model, Woods said. Theyll work for a period of time like a six-week training block and then theyll take structured time off. They might take a week off, so that they give their body a chance to recover and actually adapt to the exercise stress, so that they get stronger.

If you keep on working out all the time and there is no structured recovery time or rest period, you can actually go the other way. If you overtrain, you can actually impede or inhibit your immune systems function. You need to exercise but in times like this, too, you want to do it in a balanced manner, because over-exercising or overtraining can have a negative effect on immunity.

No one is certain how long the self-isolation period will last, but the goal for most is to come out of it in similar condition as they went into it.

People shouldnt worry so much about body change right now, Id worry about more about maintaining your body, just maintain where youre at, Harder said. Dont worry about cutting or gaining at this point because why add extra stress to yourself? Just moderation of all foods, try to focus on maintaining your fitness and your body weight and not worry so much about losing or gaining, just living in maintenance for a minute.

dvandiest@postmedia.com

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COVID-19: Fitness experts offer advice for fighting off the Quarantine 15 - Peace River Record Gazette