Diet

Here’s a statistic that sticks in the throat: since the advent of agriculture, only 7,000 plant species out of a known 250,000 have been used by humans as food, according to UN biodiversity experts. Today, just 12 crops and five animal species make up 75 percent of global calorie intake. This is just one factor driving a new movement: sustainable healthy eating. It is a new aspiration in dietary circles for two reasons: unhealthy diets put more people at risk from death and disease than unsafe sex, alcohol, drug and tobacco use combined; and global food production is the biggest single driver of environmental degradation. “Taken together, the outcome is dire,” noted a 2019 report by the EAT-Lancet Commission, an influential collective of 37 scientists from 16 countries, tasked with e...

People seeking quick fixes to achieve weight loss might be tempted by the Snake Diet. It promotes prolonged fasts interrupted by a solitary meal. Like most fad diets, it promises quick and drastic results. This article tells you everything you need to know about the Snake Diet, including its safety and whether it works for weight loss. What is the Snake Diet? The Snake Diet promotes itself not as a restrictive diet but rather a lifestyle centered around prolonged fasting. Founded on the belief that humans historically endured periods of famine, it argues that the human body can sustain itself on just one meal a few times a week. It was invented by Cole Robinson, who calls himself a fasting coach but has no qualifications or background in medicine, biology, or nutrition. ...

Two new studies are making the case that people in high-income countries need to cut back on livestock-based foods, but they're also suggesting that one-size-fits-all recommendations won't work in all cases. Though each advocates a major transformation in how the world eats and produces food in order to slow climate change—including a shift toward plant-based diets—they also say that consuming meat and dairy products in certain parts of the world, by certain populations, is critical for meeting nutritional goals. One report explores the economic case for changing current food production and consumption habits, estimating that they cause about $12 trillion a year in damage to the environment, human health and development. If countries invested just half of 1 percent of global GDP in c...

Bananas are one of the world’s most popular fruits. They’re highly nutritious, have a wonderful sweet taste, and serve as the main ingredient in many recipes. Bananas are even used to make a relaxing tea. What is banana tea? Banana tea is made by boiling a whole banana in hot water, then removing it, and drinking the remaining liquid. It can be made with or without the peel, depending on your preferences. If it’s made with the peel, it’s usually referred to as banana peel tea. Because banana peel tea takes longer to make due to its high fiber content, many people choose to omit the peel. Banana tea nutrition Detailed nutrition information for banana tea is unavailable. Still, as it uses whole bananas and water, it likely contains some water-soluble nutrients foun...

If you still think that coffee is bad for you—that it’ll hurt your heart, give you diabetes, and beat up your grandma—it’s time to update your thinking. Yes, many scientists in the 1970s and 1980s feared that coffee could cause health problems, but that was before the research community came to a deeper, richer understanding about antioxidants—compounds that can prevent or delay cell damage. Brewed black coffee is chock full of antioxidants, and its studied benefits go far beyond disease prevention. Coffee may enhance awareness, prevent kidney stones, improve memory, turbocharge your workout, boost your mood, and even block gum inflammation and thereby decrease your risk of tooth loss. Okay, but does the Coffee Diet actually work? First off, when it comes to diets, “work” is a ...

The Korean Weight Loss Diet, also known as the K-pop Diet, is a whole-foods-based diet inspired by traditional Korean cuisine and popular among Easterners and Westerners alike. It’s promoted as an effective way to lose weight and look like the stars of K-pop, a popular music genre originating from South Korea. What is the Korean Weight Loss Diet? The Korean Weight Loss Diet is inspired by traditional Korean cuisine. It primarily relies on the whole, minimally-processed foods and minimizes the intake of processed, fat-rich, or sugary foods. The diet promises to help you lose weight and keep it off by modifying your diet and exercise habits, all without giving up your favorite foods. It also pledges to help clear up your skin and optimize your long-term health. In addition ...

Plants may be good for your heart. Not political plants, which can be bad if you are the victim of such a scheme, but fruits and vegetables in your diet. An analysis just published in the Journal of the American Heart Association did "produce" more evidence that plant-based diets are associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Lettuce takes a closer look at this latest analysis conducted by a team that included Hyunju Kim, Laura E. Caulfield, Vanessa Garcia‐Larsen, Josef Coresh, and Casey M. Rebholz from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHSPH) and Lyn M. Steffen from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. They analyzed a salad of data on 12,168 men and women who had participated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Ea...

Search for "hormone diet" and there are more than 30 recent diet books on the topic. The authors allege that the reason people over 35 struggle to lose weight doesn't have to do with eating too much or not exercising enough. They say it's your hormones working against you. According to these books, you can "trick your metabolism" and "feed your thyroid". They claim that all you need to do is eat the right foods and take the right supplements, and you'll unlock the secret to lasting weight loss. But is there any evidence these diets work? The 20/30 Fast Track Hormone Weight Loss Plan isn't a book; it's a pricey program. It's sold at weight-loss centers across the United States and Canada and is led by "wellness experts" who take the company's private training but have no other cred...

Following the Mediterranean diet has been correlated with preventing heart disease, stabilizing blood sugar, and reducing blood pressure. But now, researchers have found another potential benefit of this thoroughly studied eating plan: a healthier pregnancy. A study published on July 23 in the journal PLOS Medicine found that the Mediterranean diet led to a significantly lower risk of gestational diabetes and a reduction in excess weight gain during pregnancy. Health benefits of the Mediterranean diet In the study, researchers in the United Kingdom studied more than 1,100 moms-to-be of various ethnicities who had certain risk factors for pregnancy complications, like obesity and chronic high blood pressure, at five inner-city hospitals. The study found that the Mediterranean-st...