Linda Bacon, Ph.D, dreads swimsuit season, but not because she has anything against the beach.
Instead, the California-based nutritionist fears what the season brings: scores of otherwise health-conscious citizens who subject themselves to deprivation diets (like the Master Cleanse) or intense exercise regimens, often in blazing hot weather, to look slimmer in revealing clothes.
Many unwittingly end up harming their health — and possibly even their hearts.
“Early June and January are the two times of year people do crazy, desperate things to get thin fast,” says Bacon, a nutrition professor at the City College of San Francisco, California, and the author of “Health at Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight.”
“They go on fasts, yo-yo diets, detox programs, and ‘cleanses’ without realizing that there are serious consequences to weight loss and nutrient restriction.”
That crash dieting doesn’t work and can be dangerous is a message that gets lost in the national clamor over rising rates of overweight and obesity.
Thinking of trying a lemonade fast or cabbage soup diet? Here’s what to keep in mind if fitting into your skinny jeans or your Speedo is high on your summer agenda. more...
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
An iconic Indian cabbage dish likely?
On Mumbai's streets there’s a popular new snack called Chinese bhel. There’s still no standard recipe, but all the variants I’ve tried have had one constant: strips of shredded cabbage which are combined with onions, something crunchy and then doused in spicy red sauce. Usually the cabbage is raw, but sometimes it’s lightly fried, the crunchy stuff varies from fried noodles to kurkure and the sauce can be anything from chilli-tomato to ‘Szechuan’ . But the cabbage is constant, and the current popularity of the dish makes me wonder if here we might finally have an iconic Indian cabbage dish.
Of course, the irony is that it’s called ‘Chinese’ , but I think this indicates how India has never entirely embraced the cabbage. It is widely grown, available through most of the year and the basic green type is always cheap, yet we have neither taken to it as we have to its cousin the cauliflower nor, in a slightly different way, to its other exotic cousins like broccoli or bok choy.
The food historian KT Achaya dates the introduction of cabbage to India to around the 1850s, but the lack of impact it’s made on the culinary record is shown by how he simply clubs it along with the entry for cauliflower.
Abroad it’s the opposite: cauliflower is lesser valued, whereas cabbage has vast and varied uses, such as shredded raw in American coleslaw, fermented like German sauerkraut or Korean kimchi, mashed as Irish colcannon, stuffed like Turkish dolma or French chou farci or stuffed into Russian pelmeni, fried with beef for the curiously named British bubble and squeak or cooked into the soup that sustains wide swathes of the world from Portugal to Eastern Europe to all the people on the ‘cabbage soup diet’ .
True, it’s never seen as sophisticated food. MFK Fisher, in her essay The Social Status of a Vegetable, writes about a snobbish old American woman who loathed cabbage after once smelling it cooking in a poorer part of town; she asks: “Is it any wonder that I shudder when I see it or have it near me? Those horrible slums! It’s odour!”
But the sulphurous assault that slow cooked cabbage has on the nose can also mean a deep earthy savouriness on the palate, and its cheapness, hardiness and excellent nutrition values makes it an ideal food for the poor. Cucina povera, as Italians call such cuisine, can mean simple, strong flavoured and deeply satisfying dishes, and cabbage is at the base of many of them. more...
Of course, the irony is that it’s called ‘Chinese’ , but I think this indicates how India has never entirely embraced the cabbage. It is widely grown, available through most of the year and the basic green type is always cheap, yet we have neither taken to it as we have to its cousin the cauliflower nor, in a slightly different way, to its other exotic cousins like broccoli or bok choy.
The food historian KT Achaya dates the introduction of cabbage to India to around the 1850s, but the lack of impact it’s made on the culinary record is shown by how he simply clubs it along with the entry for cauliflower.
Abroad it’s the opposite: cauliflower is lesser valued, whereas cabbage has vast and varied uses, such as shredded raw in American coleslaw, fermented like German sauerkraut or Korean kimchi, mashed as Irish colcannon, stuffed like Turkish dolma or French chou farci or stuffed into Russian pelmeni, fried with beef for the curiously named British bubble and squeak or cooked into the soup that sustains wide swathes of the world from Portugal to Eastern Europe to all the people on the ‘cabbage soup diet’ .
True, it’s never seen as sophisticated food. MFK Fisher, in her essay The Social Status of a Vegetable, writes about a snobbish old American woman who loathed cabbage after once smelling it cooking in a poorer part of town; she asks: “Is it any wonder that I shudder when I see it or have it near me? Those horrible slums! It’s odour!”
But the sulphurous assault that slow cooked cabbage has on the nose can also mean a deep earthy savouriness on the palate, and its cheapness, hardiness and excellent nutrition values makes it an ideal food for the poor. Cucina povera, as Italians call such cuisine, can mean simple, strong flavoured and deeply satisfying dishes, and cabbage is at the base of many of them. more...
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Best foods to stay in the best health
THEY COME and they go: The lemonade diet, the cabbage soup diet, Atkins, Scarsdale, Slimfast, the grapefruit diet — even the chocolate diet. Fad diets are popular because you do lose weight at first, but they’re nearly impossible to stick to, so you gain back the weight.
Nutritionist Joy Bauer says the diet that you can and should stick to for the rest of your life is one that promotes overall good health.
“You don’t want foods that are gonna help you lose weight but then they’re going to elevate your cholesterol, and your blood pressure and give you headaches and leave you feeling cranky,” Bauer said.
“So the quality of what you eat, lean proteins, lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, high fibre, whole-grains — those are the right foods that you want to be eating throughout the day that will leave you feeling energetic, empowered, while the weight comes off.”
Aim for nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which sounds like a lot, but really, it’s just a cup and a half of veggies at lunch and again at dinner and two fruit snacks.
But what kind? The best cancer-fighting foods are colourful. The brighter the better: Red bell pepper, a broccoli. Get a gorgeous complexion with beta carotene, like spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin.
“You can buy canned pumpkin and mix it with vanilla nonfat yogurt and it’s delicious and terrific for your skin,” Bauer said.
And for your heart, the best foods are omega-3 fats.
“Fatty fish like salmon, sardines are loaded and they’re also nice and inexpensive when you buy them in the can in the grocery store. Ground flaxseeds contain omega-3s and walnuts can make a terrific omega-3 snack,” she said.
Omega-3s also boost your memory as does some produce. In fact, foods that have been shown to slow down memory loss, sometimes even reverse it are cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, foods like berries that contain anthocyanin, and quercetin in foods like onions. Coffee’s good, too. more...
Nutritionist Joy Bauer says the diet that you can and should stick to for the rest of your life is one that promotes overall good health.
“You don’t want foods that are gonna help you lose weight but then they’re going to elevate your cholesterol, and your blood pressure and give you headaches and leave you feeling cranky,” Bauer said.
“So the quality of what you eat, lean proteins, lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, high fibre, whole-grains — those are the right foods that you want to be eating throughout the day that will leave you feeling energetic, empowered, while the weight comes off.”
Aim for nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day, which sounds like a lot, but really, it’s just a cup and a half of veggies at lunch and again at dinner and two fruit snacks.
But what kind? The best cancer-fighting foods are colourful. The brighter the better: Red bell pepper, a broccoli. Get a gorgeous complexion with beta carotene, like spinach, carrots, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin.
“You can buy canned pumpkin and mix it with vanilla nonfat yogurt and it’s delicious and terrific for your skin,” Bauer said.
And for your heart, the best foods are omega-3 fats.
“Fatty fish like salmon, sardines are loaded and they’re also nice and inexpensive when you buy them in the can in the grocery store. Ground flaxseeds contain omega-3s and walnuts can make a terrific omega-3 snack,” she said.
Omega-3s also boost your memory as does some produce. In fact, foods that have been shown to slow down memory loss, sometimes even reverse it are cruciferous vegetables like cabbage, foods like berries that contain anthocyanin, and quercetin in foods like onions. Coffee’s good, too. more...
Saturday, May 1, 2010
‘Tis the Season for Fad Diets?
With summer a mere month away, it’s the time of year when the North Face jackets come off and the hunt for the perfect swimsuit begins. In other words, it’s a time where sunnin’ and funnin’ meets two words: fad diet.
In the pursuit of losing some winter weight in a short amount of time, fad diets get the job done — but it is best to remember that the solution is merely short-term. “Fad diets simply do not work,” said Rebecca Roach, a nutrition professor at the University. They promote over-conscious eating, wreck body-image and endorse paying attention to your body for only a certain amount of time, she said. “The weight will come back, it always does.”
Leah Wilkening, freshman in the College of Aces, agrees with Roach’s philosophy.
“I’ve tried fad diets before out of curiosity during formal season, and they never last,” she said. “The second you eat something normal again, it’s over.”
Maggie Perion, sophomore in LAS, has never attempted to break into the fad diet craze and does not plan on doing so anytime soon.
“It’s a ridiculous concept and a huge waste of time that in the long run is only going to make you more unhealthy,” she said.
With that being said, here is a list of considerations and warnings for popular fad diets.
The Hollywood Diet
If Heidi Montag is your role model, then you’ve found your calling with this diet. Food is not allowed in the Hollywood diet; you are only permitted to drink the special “Hollywood diet juice,” which is similar to a form of watered down grapefruit juice. Also known as the “48-hour miracle diet,” the Hollywood diet promises the loss of ten pounds in two days. Roach recommends that losing anything over two pounds a week is extremely unhealthy.
The Zone Diet
If you’re an athletic mathematician, the Zone diet could be your perfect match. By giving your metabolism a makeover with a diet that depends on a 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrate regiment, the Zone diet promises a high-energy athletic performance.
The 3 Day Diet
If food “taste-ability” isn’t a factor for you, then you won’t have a problem with this diet. Limited to a highly restrictive proportion plan, the 3 Day diet consists of products such as black coffee, grapefruit, tuna, dry toast, green beans, cottage cheese, and saltine crackers — yum.
The Cabbage Soup Diet
If you’re a fan of boredom and monotony then hey, try out this regimen. The Cabbage Soup diet allows one to eat a “bottomless bowl” of this onion-based soup concoction with tomato juice, celery, and cabbage as well as an unlimited amount of fruit and vegetables.
This diet is only recommended to be taken on for a week; afterward, you should resume your normal and much more exciting eating habits.
The Atkins Diet
If cutting out fruits and vegetables has you shouting “hallelujah!” then you can start rejoicing. Atkins, a low-carbohydrate diet turns your body into a fat burning machine while never having to count a single calorie. Though seen as controversial by some dietitians, some say Atkins can lead to healthy weight management and a healthy heart.
The South Beach Diet
If you’re a serial snacker (and you know who you are), then South Beach has got your name on it.
Similar to Atkins, South Beach is a low-fat, low-carb diet, but it is not restricted to an off-limits, forbidden-fruit policy. more...
In the pursuit of losing some winter weight in a short amount of time, fad diets get the job done — but it is best to remember that the solution is merely short-term. “Fad diets simply do not work,” said Rebecca Roach, a nutrition professor at the University. They promote over-conscious eating, wreck body-image and endorse paying attention to your body for only a certain amount of time, she said. “The weight will come back, it always does.”
Leah Wilkening, freshman in the College of Aces, agrees with Roach’s philosophy.
“I’ve tried fad diets before out of curiosity during formal season, and they never last,” she said. “The second you eat something normal again, it’s over.”
Maggie Perion, sophomore in LAS, has never attempted to break into the fad diet craze and does not plan on doing so anytime soon.
“It’s a ridiculous concept and a huge waste of time that in the long run is only going to make you more unhealthy,” she said.
With that being said, here is a list of considerations and warnings for popular fad diets.
The Hollywood Diet
If Heidi Montag is your role model, then you’ve found your calling with this diet. Food is not allowed in the Hollywood diet; you are only permitted to drink the special “Hollywood diet juice,” which is similar to a form of watered down grapefruit juice. Also known as the “48-hour miracle diet,” the Hollywood diet promises the loss of ten pounds in two days. Roach recommends that losing anything over two pounds a week is extremely unhealthy.
The Zone Diet
If you’re an athletic mathematician, the Zone diet could be your perfect match. By giving your metabolism a makeover with a diet that depends on a 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrate regiment, the Zone diet promises a high-energy athletic performance.
The 3 Day Diet
If food “taste-ability” isn’t a factor for you, then you won’t have a problem with this diet. Limited to a highly restrictive proportion plan, the 3 Day diet consists of products such as black coffee, grapefruit, tuna, dry toast, green beans, cottage cheese, and saltine crackers — yum.
The Cabbage Soup Diet
If you’re a fan of boredom and monotony then hey, try out this regimen. The Cabbage Soup diet allows one to eat a “bottomless bowl” of this onion-based soup concoction with tomato juice, celery, and cabbage as well as an unlimited amount of fruit and vegetables.
This diet is only recommended to be taken on for a week; afterward, you should resume your normal and much more exciting eating habits.
The Atkins Diet
If cutting out fruits and vegetables has you shouting “hallelujah!” then you can start rejoicing. Atkins, a low-carbohydrate diet turns your body into a fat burning machine while never having to count a single calorie. Though seen as controversial by some dietitians, some say Atkins can lead to healthy weight management and a healthy heart.
The South Beach Diet
If you’re a serial snacker (and you know who you are), then South Beach has got your name on it.
Similar to Atkins, South Beach is a low-fat, low-carb diet, but it is not restricted to an off-limits, forbidden-fruit policy. more...
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