Tuesday, 8 November 2016
The Chick-fil-A diet clucked me up
This is what happens when you eat Chick-fil-A grilled nuggets three times a day. (Chick-fil-A)
Im in a fowl mood.
Theres a hot diet thats making waves on the Web. No, it doesnt involve kale, and theres no juice, either. Its just chicken specifically, from New York Citys newest clucking chain: Chick-fil-A. And I decided to take it as far as I could in its most literal sense. The details of whats being billed as the Chick-fil-A diet and the chicken nugget cleanse by media outlets come printed right on the chains takeout bags.
Kick off the New Year by adding one healthy habit to your routine, they read. Heres a good one: Eat smaller meals (like an 8-count pack of grilled chicken nuggets) every three to four hours.
Chick-Fil-A suggests adding “one healthy habit” to your day, like eating chicken nuggets every three hours pic.twitter.com/PO3ADjyWUZ
Rodger Sherman (@rodger_sherman) January 27, 2016
So I went for it. Specifically, I aimed to eat a 140-calorie serving of eight grilled chicken nuggets every three hours for a full 24-hour span. Like any die-hard American, I love fast food. And like most people, I also love quick-and-dirty solutions to feeling healthy while still being able to eat junk. Honestly, my loafers couldnt carry me to the Chick-fil-A location on 37th Street and Sixth Avenue fast enough.
The news of this dietary regimen broke this weekend, and obviously, the Internet completely exploded.
The future is fast-food cleanses! announced Cosmopolitan. The future isnt so bad! (But most people are dead. R.I.P. humanity.)
With 530 grams of sodium, theyre well under the daily limit of 2,300 grams recommended in US dietary guidelines, wrote the Huffington Post. And they have less than one-third of the daily cholesterol limit for healthy people.
Heres how my cleanse went down.
1:45 p.m.: Can I get 10 eight-piece grilled chicken nuggets? I asked with cheer when I arrived at the Chick-fil-A counter. It was more than I needed, but if the chicken-only diet treated me kindly, I wouldnt have minded expanding the 24-hour period into something greater. As advertised, the diet doesnt specify anything about the use of side sauces or beverages. So I also picked up a variety of the chains dips including everything from 45-calorie packs of barbecue sauce to a 140-calorie container of Chick-fil-A sauce and a diet lemonade (healthy, right?). The 10 boxes of nuggets alone cost $50.90, not including tax.
2:30 p.m.: I arrived back at my desk feeling hungry and immediately opened my first pack of nuggets. Bite-sized and bearing grill marks, the pieces were bathed in a puddle of oil (hopefully vegetable) and came lightly seasoned (with what specifically, Im not sure). Though a very strong scent of grilled chicken quickly permeated my cubicle area, they actually tasted pretty good. Suddenly, 24 hours of chicken nuggets didnt seem so daunting.
5 p.m.: Waiting until 5:30 for my next dose of tender chicken bites was challenging. Turns out I was hungrier than I thought at 2:30, and those eight nuggets hardly made a dent in my appetite. All I could focus on was more food to the point where it distracted me from a deadline. By 5, I couldnt take it any longer. I microwaved the second eight-piece serving, dipped it into some honey mustard (only an extra 45 calories per container!) and felt much better.
7:30 p.m.: I was next due to eat at 8:30 dinner, I guess? but I still felt fine at the gym while doing a high-intensity 40-minute session on the elliptical machine. Actually, I felt terrific. I ran with more vigor than usual and ended up burning 515 calories easily metabolizing those two eight-piece servings from earlier. For a second, I thought about staying until 9 to do weights, but then reconsidered so I could arrive home for the next batch of nuggets. Maybe there is something to this cleanse, I thought to myself.
8:25 p.m.: Things started to get hairy on my three-block walk home from the gym. My energy completely vanished, hunger pangs set in and I began to feel lightheaded. With few calories consumed since 2:30, coupled with a workout, I was like a car running on a low tank of fuel. I burst through my door and immediately microwaved another eight nuggets. Just for the sake of more calories 110, to be precise I ate them with Chick-fil-As tangy Polynesian dipping sauce. I was so hungry that, even after I inhaled the chicken, I ate the leftover sauce with a spoon. Good thing I live alone. Thirsty, and simply in need of something else in my belly, I chugged a large glass of milk. And thats just gross.
9:30 p.m.: It still wasnt enough. I spent the next hour on my couch feeling sluggish, asking myself if I really had to wait another two hours to eat the next batch at 11:30 before bed. It obviously didnt happen: In a fit, I heated up another eight and perked right up. My apartment double-reeked of chicken.
8:15 a.m.: On any normal day, I eat a breakfast of fruit and oatmeal, then wash it all down with a mug of coffee. But after a full night of sleep, I microwaved more nuggets, dipped them into a 110-calorie container of Chick-fil-A ranch dressing, then chased it with my normal cup of joe. It was my fifth serving of eight grilled nuggets in 18 hours, and I began to feel some heartburn coming on. The lingering smell of chicken, plus the mere chicken-and-coffee combo so early in the morning, also made me feel a bit nauseated on top of it. Mind over matter, I encouraged myself.
9:20 a.m.: Convinced the oily smell was seeping through my skin, I sprayed on some extra cologne before heading out to work. I felt sluggish, still a bit sick, and missed my train. The next one came it was packed and I boarded. One stop later, I got a cold sweat, and I felt a rising feeling in my esophagus. For a second, it was difficult to swallow. Something was about to get nasty on a subway full of people. Yes, I really thought I was about to blow chunks in front of everyone. Is that the key to a cleansing diet? Luckily, I deep-breathed myself through it and managed to keep it together the remaining 30 minutes.
11:30 a.m.: Do I have to? I asked myself when I looked at the next round of freshly nuked grilled nuggets. My tummy had since settled, and I didnt want to have another close call. Needless to say, I took my time to get to them. I ate them without any condiments. I felt fine after eating them, and that feeling lasted a while. The next and last installment was at 2, but I decided to call it off. I had had enough. I took the four remaining boxes out of the fridge and left them out for any co-worker who dared to try the all-chicken regimen. Im not sure who grabbed them later, but I do hope theyre enjoying those nuggets with some vegetables thats a balanced meal.
This story originally appeared in the New York Post.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/02/04/chick-fil-diet-clucked-me-up/
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Monday, 7 November 2016
Exercise Or Diet? One Is More Important For Weight Loss
A combination of a healthy diet and a well-rounded exercise regimen is key for weight loss. But if you pit the two against each other, one yields more results than the other.
When it comes to dropping pounds, what you put in your body is more important than how you move it, according to the AsapScience video above. The clip explains that cutting out calories is more fruitful than running on the treadmill because it takes less time. You could put on your gym clothes, go to a workout class and come home and shower to burn some calories, or you could just not eat a candy bar.
While exercise is crucial for leading a healthy life, exclusively, it doesn’t often promote weight loss. A 2015 study found that calorie control is more successful, especially because exercise increases appetite in many people. Even more, additional research found that working out burns more calories initially, but the burn eventually plateaus as the body adjusts for stability.
Nevertheless, we have to stress that putting the two together is your very best bet for getting the most out of life. Don’t forget that physical activity can reduce risk for heart disease, cancer and diabetes and can boost your mood and help you sleep better.
Lucky for you, you don’t have to choose between the two.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2016/02/04/diet-or-exercise-for-weight-loss_n_9161472.html
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Sunday, 6 November 2016
There’s A New Vegan-Ish Diet That’s Changing The Rules
If you can’t imagine abiding by the laws of veganism, a diet that excludes some of brunch’s best offerings, you might be pleased to know about a new food fad that permits breakfast lovers to have their omelets and eat them, too.
Many not-quite-vegans are including eggs in their otherwise animal product-free regimens, and these so-called “veggans” (clever, right?) are using #veggan on Instagram to prove how much a runny yolk can change a dish.
Elizabeth Ward, a registered dietitian who previously served as a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, points out that eggs are incredibly nutritious and satisfying. She supports adding them to an eating plan.
“Being a vegan can be tricky because you need to be careful about getting enough of some nutrients,” she said.
Vitamin B12 and choline are two essential nutrients that are found in higher amounts in animal foods, and they’re often better absorbed from animal foods, too. According to Ward, eggs can help to fill some of the potential nutrient gaps that vegan diets pose: “They are an excellent source of choline, and provide vitamin B12 and iron, as well as protein and many other nutrients,” she said.
Indeed, eggs have long-been dubbed “the perfect protein,” with one large egg contains six grams of the most readily available protein to the body.
Outdated wisdom suggested eggs could contribute to high cholesterol, but recent studies show that the food’s good cholesterol doesn’t raise a healthy person’s risk. In fact, according to the Mayo Clinic, some studies have shown that moderate egg consumption (about seven a week) can actually help prevent the risk of some heart-related conditions.
What’s more, eggs are affordable, portable and pair well nutritionally and deliciously with many plant-based foods.
The rising term “veggan” comes at a time when there are seemingly millions of specialty diets under the sun. Whether you’re a flexitarian, a bacon-after-beer subscriber or a vegan before six, the truth is is that there are many ways to be healthy — and it doesn’t really matter what you call yourself. If you stick to real, whole foods that you feel good about eating and that fuel you’re body, you’re doing alright, whether you have a cool Instagram hashtag or not.
H/T Well and Good
Related on HuffPost:
Why a diet of worms could be good for you
Forget tablets to get rid of the wriggly creatures. Some scientists believe eating them may be key to curing auto-immune diseases
For hundreds of thousands of years, worms have beeninfecting humans, burrowing into our bodies, setting up shop in our organs and generally making themselves at home. Until about 150 years ago, nearly everyone who ever lived was probably infected with some parasitic worm or other. Worms can cause intestinal problems, anaemia and, depending on the species, more severe problems, including seizures and paralysis. But, with modern sanitation, we have eradicated them from many parts of the world a great public health success.
However, growing numbers of scientists have begun to argue that the loss of these parasites, known as helminths, has led to a spike in a range of illnesses, including autoimmune diseases, allergies and asthma, and even depression and other mental health problems. They say that worms, or drugs developed from them, could be potent treatments for these ailments, superior to current approaches, and with fewer side-effects.
Our bodies, especially our immune systems, have evolved to expect input from these creatures, says University of Iowa immunologist David Elliott, who has studied helminths for more than a decade. Without this feedback, the immune system can get badly off track.
The first study of helminths as a treatment was 40 years ago, when JATurton, a parasitologist in Surrey, dosed himself with hookworm and found that his chronic hay fever disappeared. In the past decade, helminth research has expanded significantly; so far, it has largely involved animal studies, which havemostly found positive results. Icangive a mouse multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or colitis, and when I give it worms, the disease goes away, says Elliott. Can we do that in humans too? I dont see why not.
There have been just a handful ofhuman studies: perhaps the most well-known is by Joel Weinstock, a gastroenterologist at Tufts University in Massachusetts, which examined theeffect of worms on patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Almost 75% of those who ingested the worms were cured, especially noteworthy given that they had not been helped by more traditional treatments. But research with human subjects is difficult, largely because of regulatory obstacles; many worms are considered hazardous pathogens.
It is not clear exactly how helminths help their human hosts. They appear to have developed molecular strategies to hack into our immune system, reining in its response to alien cells. In allergy, asthma, autoimmune diseases, and probably many other illnesses as well, this inflammatory response is excessive, and ends up damaging the body. It makes sense that helminths would have found ways to calibrate our immunity; as long-term parasites, their survival depends on neutralising the hosts defences. They can live in our bodies, and we can stay healthy and they can stay healthy, says Weinstock.
He is among a group of researchers who are focusing on finding the particular molecules that allow worms to manipulate us. The aim is to develop these molecules or analogues of them into medicines. By understanding what the worms do, we may be able to develop magic bullets, he says. This approach has advantages over using the worms themselves: dosing would be more controlled, and patients wouldnt be disgusted.
Others are sceptical, arguing that helminths are extremely complex and probably use multiple mechanisms to nullify our defences. Its hard to recreate complex biological interactions, says William Parker, an immunologist at Duke University in North Carolina. These organisms are their own living drug-delivery systems. They have so many effects on their hosts.
The arrival of worms-in-a-pill, if it happens at all, is probably years away. But a handful of companies already offer live worms to consumers. Judy Chinitz and Marc Dellerba started their helminth supply company, Biome Restoration, in the UK three years ago, and have more than 1,200regular customers. They ship microscopic larvae which grow into worms after being swallowed all over the world. Dellerba, who has a PhD inchemistry, oversees a rigorous manufacturing process.
Biome Restoration worked with the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which permits the company to sell the organism as a non-pharmaceutical product. But much of this commerce exists in a legal grey area, because many health regulatory agencies, including those in the UK and the US, deem most helminths to be pathogens that cannot be transported.
Some people are now taking the DIY route, raising helminths themselves. Parker estimates that 7,000 or so people worldwide have used worms as medicine in the past few years. There are several vibrant online communities where devotees discuss the best worm-raising regimens and the most effective dosing strategies.
One key question: which worm works best, for which ailment? Researchers, suppliers and consumers have identified a few promising species thatfit the key conditions: they dont cause serious health problems, dont reproduce in humans, cant spread from person to person, dont migrate within the body, and can be eradicated with anti-worm medicines. Almost all of those who use worms ingest one of four different species: rat tapeworm, pig whipworm, human whipworm, or human hookworm.
Parker and his researchers have gathered data from hundreds of users and growers. Im convinced, he says. Based on the evidence Ive seen, it is very effective, he says. It has a really good benefit-to-risk ratio, especially for serious autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and inflammatory bowel disorder.
Not surprisingly, though, some scientists are suspicious of the current use of helminths, calling it unscientific, premature and possibly risky. Parker, too, recognises that more research is necessary: Its a slow process, but I think its inevitable that it will significantly change how we treat these diseases.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/feb/08/why-a-diet-of-worms-could-be-good-for-you
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