April 04, 2019 at 04:50AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGnyqti9wsw] The ketogenic diet may have been the buzziest eating plan in 2018, but is it the healthiest overall? According to U.S. News and World Report, the tried-and-true Mediterranean diet rises to take the top honor. A panel of health experts examined and ranked 41 popular eating plans, concluding that the Mediterranean diet is the most universally beneficial for long-term health. Further down the list, U.S. News named the DASH diet as the second healthiest, with WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) as fourth, vegetarian as 11th, vegan as 20th, Paleo as 33rd, and Whole30 and keto tied for 38th. What makes the Mediterranean diet so beloved by MDs and nutrition experts? Registered dietitian Lauren Slayton, RD, points to the fact that it emphasizes the consumption of foods high in omega-3s and healthy fats, like fish, olive oil, nuts, grains, legumes, fruits, and veggies. “[Olive oil] has tremendous cardiovascular benefits,” she says. Meanwhile, you’re eating a lot less red meat—although it’s still permitted on occasion. It’s generally pretty easy for people to follow, Slayton says (and allows for small amounts of red wine). “Diet trends come and go, but the Mediterranean diet’s encouragement of eating a variety of foods in moderation is pretty aligned with the advice I like to give my clients.” —Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD “The Mediterranean diet isn’t a specific set of rules and restrictions, making it way easier to adopt than other trendy eating plans,” says Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, in
Category: Diet
Can You Use The Keto Diet To Help Treat Cancer? Here’s What The Science Says
April 04, 2019 at 01:16AM What you need to know about the ketogenic diet and cancer treatment, including safety concerns, efficacy, and common questions answered. Continue Reading… Author L.J. Amaral MS, RD, CSO | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
This registered dietitian crowns peanut butter as the best nut butter of them all
April 03, 2019 at 09:35AM by CWC [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsASWf_1AG0] We love a good nut butter. And while almond and cashew butter have taken center stage (even sunflower seeds have joined the game) it’s sometimes nice to get back to our roots: peanut butter. Since making appearances in our childhood PB&Js, the protein-packed spread has become a healthy-eating staple. It tastes so good, you might begin to question whether or not it’s actually good for you. Worry not—in the newest episode of You Versus Food, Well+Good’s YouTube series breaking down the buzziest food and drink trends, top dietitian Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, confirms that the yummy spread has tons of nutritional benefits. “Peanut butter is made of peanuts and peanuts are pretty healthy,” says Beckerman. “So just like that perfect match you found on Tinder, peanuts have an optimal profile— a nutritional profile, that is.” What are the benefits of peanut butter? Peanuts are full of fiber, monounsaturated fats (aka the good kind), antioxidants and protein, says Beckerman. Here’s the full benefit breakdown: 1. They’re high in protein. While almonds ultimately have more fiber, and cashews have more healthy fats, Beckerman says peanuts take the cake when it comes to protein—seven grams per 1-ounce serving. 2. They’re rich in folate. Folate is of course important for fetal development, but Beckerman says the nutrient is also important for helping your body make more red blood cells. 3. Peanuts are good for your heart. Peanuts have lots of monounsaturated fats, Beckerman says, which have been associated
7 nutritionists share the most common questions they get about healthy eating
April 01, 2019 at 10:30AM by CWC Let’s face it—healthy eating is confusing. Studies are all over the place (one day eggs are bad, next day they’re good, next day they’re bad again), there’s never been more eating plans to choose from (paleo, keto, Mediterranean, oh my!) and basically every food company has tried to come up with some wellness “spin” for their products, whether or not they’re actually healthy. The information (and choices!) can be paralyzing. To help clear up at least some of this confusion, we talked to seven dietitians and nutritionists about the most frequently asked food questions they’ve encountered—because if they hear them all the time, chances are you and I are asking those same questions, too. 1. “Is coconut oil healthy?” The answer? Sort of. “Coconut oil wears a ‘health halo,’ leading people to believe it’s better for them than other oils,” says Lauren Harris-Pincus, RD, author of The Protein-Packed Breakfast Club. She says the hype has gotten so intense that many of her clients have adopted coconut oil in favor of olive or avocado oils. Here’s the thing: Coconut oil is really high in saturated fat (one tablespoon has 12 grams). While some saturated fat is important, too much has been associated with higher cholesterol levels and other negative health outcomes. “The American Heart Association recommends limiting intake of saturated fats,” Harris-Pincus says, and compared to other oils, coconut oil has a greater proportion of saturated fats while delivering a similar calorie and overall fat
9 ways to hack your Instant Pot for easier meal prep
April 02, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC The Instant Pot can seem a little daunting. All of those buttons and settings make it a little more complicated than your trusty slow cooker, that’s for sure. But let me tell you something—this thing was made for meal prep. Once you figure out the ins and outs of the multi-cooker, it can save you hours every Sunday preparing your go-to healthy staples for weekday breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Instead of firing up the oven, you can whip up sweet potatoes in half the time. And your grains? Rice and quinoa will be fluffy as ever in a handful of minutes without anything overflowing onto the stovetop. You can even make hard-boiled eggs and steel-cut oats in a jiffy. So, what are you waiting for? Grab your Instant Pot and utilize these hacks for your easiest week of meal prep yet. These are the top nine ways to hack your Instant Pot for easy meal prep 1. Steam spagetti squash Instead of roasting spaghetti squash in the oven for 40 minutes, you can make it in your Instant Pot in 20. According to Nom Nom Paleo, all you need to do is cut it in half crosswise, scoop out the seeds, and set the halves on the steamer insert inside the Instant Pot. After the cook time is up (about seven minutes), you can shred it with a fork and devour it per usual. 2. Cook every type of bean—even the dried ones With their
With skin-boosting, cold-fighting benefits, zinc is here to give magnesium a run for its money
April 01, 2019 at 04:30AM by CWC If calcium and magnesium are the Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper of the mineral world, think of zinc as their killer backing band in A Star is Born. In other words, although this nutrient isn’t usually front-and-center in the spotlight, our bodies’ performance wouldn’t be nearly as harmonious without it. See, zinc is one of 16 essential minerals that we need to survive. Yet it’s considered a trace mineral, meaning we only need small amounts of it. Perhaps that’s why we don’t hear as much about it as we do major minerals—including iron, sodium, potassium, and, yes, calcium and magnesium—which our bodies use in larger amounts. But zinc actually plays a mega-important role in skin health, immunity, and more, so it’s definitely worth keeping tabs on your intake. Luckily, it should be easy to get all the zinc you need—8 mg per day for women and 11 mg per day for men—through your diet, as long as you’re eating a variety of whole foods. According to nutritionist Dawn Jackson Blatner, RDN, CSSD, animal protein and dairy are high in zinc, as are plant foods such as cashews, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, and oatmeal. (Here’s a cheat-sheet of the best zinc sources to get you started.) But there’s one caveat. “Plant-based foods [like grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds] contain phytates, which may bind to zinc and make it less absorbable,” says Jackson Blatner. So if you’re vegan, vegetarian, or just don’t eat a ton of meat,
Not in on the Collagen Trend? Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Buzzy Supplement
March 31, 2019 at 06:30PM by CWC From beauty products to beverages, you don’t have to listen hard to hear the buzz around collagen supplements (which we called as a rising trend in 2017, just sayin’). But if you’re still scratching your head over what it actually does and how to get it in your diet, we got you. In a nutshell, collagen is the popular protein that’s touted for its benefits for everything from your hair and nails to your gut health. But that begs the question of the hour: Do you really need a collagen supplement, or can you just get it through your diet? According to Nick Bitz, ND, chief scientific officer at Youtheory®, your once-a-week bone-broth splurge isn’t going to cut it. The question of the hour: Do you really need a collagen supplement, or can you just get it through your diet? “Food-derived collagen is much too large to be absorbed effectively by the intestine,” Dr. Bitz explains. “Although bone broth soups and bone-in, skin-on meats are excellent sources of collagen protein, they provide very little usable collagen, most of which never reaches the bloodstream.” Instead, he suggests finding a hydrolyzed collagen supplement, like Youtheory®’s Collagen Powder or Tablets, which have been engineered for better absorption, according to Dr. Bitz. “[Supplements] supply a unique type of collagen that has undergone hydrolysis (a gentle enzymatic process that breaks the protein into smaller, more uniform peptide fragments),” Dr. Bitz says. “Studies show that over 90 percent of hydrolyzed collagen
How to stick to the Mediterranean, keto, or Whole30 diets at The Cheesecake Factory
March 29, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC Fact: Virtually everyone loves The Cheesecake Factory. It’s a family, friends, and date spot beloved by many—even Drake. That’s why there’s one at all the cool, fancy malls and the wait for dinner is usually nuts. Another fact: It has the War and Peace of menus, which is to say that it’s ginormous. The Cheesecake Factory’s menu is 21 pages and 250 items long. Besides the usual categories like salads, lunch specials, and desserts, there’s also healthy-sounding sections called “Super” Foods and Skinnylicious. The options are overwhelming enough—and if you’re following a healthy eating plan such at the Mediterranean diet, ketogenic diet, or Whole30, narrowing down what works with your needs is even more overwhelming. Well, consider this your handy little cheat sheet. To help navigate the endless menu options and zero in on the healthy ones, I enlisted integrative and functional dietitian Nour Zibdeh, RD, for help. “The main thing to keep in mind with The Cheesecake Factory that most of the meal portions on their main menu are really big, which is fine if you’re sharing with someone, but ultimately too many calories to be healthy to eat all in one sitting,” she says. “That said, there are some healthy picks on the menu, but the key is knowing what you’re going to order before you go. Otherwise, you could get overwhelmed in the moment and order something that isn’t exactly healthy.” On that note, here’s the ultimate guide for what
There’s a scientific reason why certain food textures are dealbreakers
March 26, 2019 at 12:47PM by CWC I wouldn’t call myself picky when it comes to food texture. Bring on the gooey (okra), the chewy (taffy), and the mushy (week-old bananas). I’m here for all of it. Others are more particular. In recent months, I’ve seen friends reject a smorgasbord of delicious eats—including pizza crust, eggplants, and oranges—all in the name of a weird “mouthfeel.” So I went on an internet quest of find out why, exactly, textures can make or break an otherwise palatable meal. I quickly stumbled upon food rheology—the science of finding appetizing “food structures,” the building blocks of texture. How ingredients feel in your mouth proves so consequential that those in the food industry often consult specialists, reports The Guardian. While researchers don’t yet know each and every factor that goes into affinity (of lack therof) for, say, pineapple, part of it is cultural. Westerners tend to dislike slimy delicacies, but many people raised in other parts of the world couldn’t be bothered. Even though the why is still a big question, scientists have broken successfully broken down the various texture groups. In 2011, food sensory researchers from the Understanding and Insight Group, came up with four paradigms of “mouth behavior,” according to Popular Science. So now, you can chock up your disgust for apple sauce or smoothies to the fact that you’re more of a “cruncher.” Are you a chewer, a cruncher, a sucker, or a smoosher? Learn your food texture type. Chewers: Those who love
Found: The Best Blood-Sugar-Balancing, Ketogenic Foods You Can Buy Right Now
March 25, 2019 at 03:32PM They’ll keep you full—plus, they taste really, really good. Continue Reading… Author Liz Moody | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue