Diet

Inflammation is of two types - acute and chronic and is body's natural response to protect itself against harm as without it, injuries could fester and simple infections could be deadly. According to a Harvard health study, inflammation activates the body's immune system to dispatch an army of white blood cells to surround and protect the area which has been hurt, creating visible redness and swelling but chronic, low-grade inflammation can turn into a silent killer that contributes to cardiovas­cular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes and other conditions. Hence, inflammation can be good or bad depending on the situation where on one hand, it’s your body’s natural way of protecting itself when you’re injured or sick and can help your body defend itself from illness and stimulate healing. O...

A diagnosis of gastroparesis had gone a little way to solving the mystery, but I was still feeling almost constantly unwell. A FODMAP reintroduction diet was the next logical step, so I was given a pamphlet and sent on my way. I dutifully read the pamphlet and tried to absorb the science jargon and the seemingly enormous list of foods that needed to be restricted. I quickly decided that I was not desperate enough to learn what felt like an entirely new language. It is funny (or not remotely funny), though, how you come around to these things when your hand is forced by an unruly digestive tract. Over the years, I have caved in to almost everything my doctor and digestive system have asked of me. Keep reading at Body and Soul

A session on the experience the people had at the health camp was held in the presence of Shddha Bhauji on February 19. Dhartee Ben Thakkar from Ahmedabad spoke about the half-baked food and the importance of keeping fast. She said that to lead a disease-free life it is necessary to have a proper diet and a pure lifestyle about which much was said at the health camp. Leading a healthy life depends on the mental condition of a person, she said. According to Dhartee Ben, one can remain disease-free by opting for natural food including fruits, salads and juices. As soon as one gets up, one should keep fast without water for six hours and unless one gets rid of the disease, one should have organic food. Read the full story at Free Press Journal.

When it comes to diets, people often gravitate toward those that feature a strict set of rules about what you can eat, how much, and at what time. A whole-foods diet is not like that. That’s because it’s not a traditional diet. Instead, it’s an overall approach to eating that can be used to guide your food choices over the long term. What Is a Whole-Foods Diet? A whole-foods diet is not a formal or commercial diet, says Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, author of Finally Full, Finally Slim and adjunct professor at New York University. Rather, a whole foods–based approach to eating is designed to be a long-term, sustainable plan. It’s about as self-explanatory as possible: You fill your plate with whole foods and, as much as you can, avoid those that are processed. Who...

People are increasingly looking for the best raw dog food. It's not just a passing fad, as pet parents are beginning to favor it over commercial dog food in increasing numbers. While there's nothing wrong with the best dog food that you're probably buying at the moment, it has to be said that raw dog food has some unique advantages that are well worth bearing in mind. One of the biggest draws of the best raw dog food is that unlike more commercial options, it is free from the artificial preservatives that are often the hallmarks of processed options. It also has far fewer ingredients than regular dog food, which means your pup gets everything it needs, and nothing that it doesn't. Get the full list at PetsRadar

Certain diets emphasize macronutrients—high-carb diets, low-carb diets, low-fat diets, high-fat diets, etc. For example, in the 1980s low-fat diets were all the rage, and as a result, all sorts of packaged low-fat cakes, cookies, and snack bars took over grocery store shelves like wildfire. However, while the original premise of the diet was that eating less fat would help people lose fat, it became evident that many of the processed and packaged foods we eat were still contributing to weight gain, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and overall disease risk. As a result, nutrition and wellness experts started encouraging people to focus less on specific macronutrients and rather on overall diet quality with the aim of consuming fewer processed foods. Thus, diets such as the paleo diet...

Omena, groundnuts, fish, arrowroots and cassava are some of the readily available natural foods that help men amass enough stamina in bed, Science and multiple interviews with experts reveal. The International Journal of Impotence Research projects that by 2025, 322 million men in the world would be suffering erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction (ED) refers to an inability to either produce or maintain an erection that is firm enough to have sexual intercourse. Partners of men with erectile dysfunction experience lower sexual satisfaction, correlated to the degree of ED in their partner. The principal risk factor associated with ED is age, and the increasing prevalence of ED is linked to the global ageing population. Read more at Standard Media.

But eating a more colourful diet may also increase the risk of overeating unhealthy food. Embling has found that we're more likely to eat more pizza when it has lots of different coloured toppings. She advises eating varied colours for fruit and vegetables but opting for a smaller colour palette for more indulgent foods. It's also worth noting that artificial colouring in foods, such as cake and sweets, sadly don't count towards a varied healthy diet. There are other ways, aside from colour, to get a range of nutrients and phytonutrients from your diet, researchers say, such as paying attention to taste. One study found that participants who ate bitter and strong-tasting vegetablesover 12 weeks had lower blood pressure and blood sugar at the end, because of their fibre content and the ran...

A new video series from Scientific American and Spektrum der Wissenschaftgives you a serving of science. In this episode, we take a look at something called inulin. See the German-language version of this piece at Spektrum der Wissenschaft. Have you ever heard of inulin? Even if you haven’t, you’ve likely eaten it. It’s a naturally occurring form of dietary fiber. You can find it in a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and herbs, including wheat, onions, bananas, leeks, artichokes and asparagus. It’s said that cooking itself is really just chemistry – and for inulin, chemistry has given it some surprising culinary abilities across a range of foods. Inulin belongs to a class of dietary fibers called fructans. It helps plants store energy and is typically found in their roots. Keep r...

The best commute I've ever had started in the pre-dawn darkness. Some days it was a struggle to shake off my sleep, but the view of the rising sun above the mist-shrouded Tennessee hills was a comforting sight. The only thing missing was the crow of a rooster, so the farm dogs compensated with wagging tails. After parking in a gravel lot beside the barn, the first step was to pull on my boots. I spent two summers working on an organic farm near Nashville. It taught me countless life lessons and introduced me to the most down-to-earth people I've ever known. I witnessed firsthand the meticulous cultivation of food as it traveled from the soil to a customer's hand. I learned how to produce the food that feeds communities across the US. Before working there, I'd say I was obsessed with orga...