The best way to shape up? Reconsider everything you think you know about your diet

From the by the Telegraph

Professor Tim Spector has advised that we all delay our first meal of the day if we want to stay healthy and lose weight Credit: Jason Ford

By Katherine Lovage, NEWSLETTER EDITOR

Good afternoon, Are you enjoying summer so far? It’s been a very busy time for me, with weddings, birthdays and a few live events. However, there has been an unfortunate downside to my stuffed schedule: my diet has well and truly slipped. For example, I’ve been devouring every fried food and carbohydrate in sight. In fact, I rustled up some focaccia two days ago and have single-handedly powered my way through the entire loaf. In my defence, it was delicious; mastering bread was one of the few silver linings from my 2020 lockdown. Unfortunately, my slap-dash approach to eating has left me bloated and weighed down, an uncomfortable feeling which is magnified by the hot weather. So, I welcomed this handy article about 11 of the most common diet myths and what to do instead to point me in the right direction. In this feature, epidemiologist and microbiome expert Professor Tim Spector says that our obsession with calorie counting can be incredibly unhelpful. Drastically restricting the amount one eats can lead to yo-yo dieting. In better news, cheese and coffee may not be as bad for us as we have been led to believe. Spector also usefully lists eight of the best foods for the gut, from artichoke to kimchi. We might also need to reconsider our relationship with ‘the most important meal of the day’. It transpires that everything we know about breakfast is wrong – but adjusting what and how we eat in the morning can have a positive effect on our health, from cognitive function to stress levels. If you’re ready to reconfigure your diet then good luck! I’ll be making my first change this week: all homemade focaccia must be shared with at least one other person. How do you keep track of your diet? Let me know by emailing me at katherine.lovage@telegraph.co.uk. PS I almost achieved full marks, scoring 9 out of 10 in this week’s news quiz. Can you chalk up that elusive 10?

To help you out today

	The everyday foods sneaking salt into your diet – and 11 easy ways to cut down. Try these simple swaps to lower your intake.
	Diana Henry’s best French-inspired tart recipes. From a nectarine and lavender tarte tatin to a cherry and chocolate frangipane, these feel-good bakes are simple yet showstopping.
	The secret supplement that can fix brain fog. Unable to concentrate or feeling exhausted? Your body may be running low on a key vitamin…
	The surprising new approach that could ease arthritis. Discover the unexpected treatment that could improve your symptoms – medication-free.

Seeing the glass half-empty or half-full

In these darker days, normally many people look at this world and their days in a groovy mood.

A non-Orthodox Jewish Young(-ish) Professional JYP, (aka “Judgy Young Pessimist”) who does like latkes (fried potato pancakes), and seems to enjoy parties featuring lots of people, food, dancing, and drinking which comes on his way with the Chanukah Parties.

But when he looks at the glasses, we have the impression he looks them from the wrong site of the picture. He writes:

It should come as no surprise that I, JYP, (aka “Judgy Young Pessimist”) see the glass as half-empty. {I Can’t Think of a Witty Title for This Post}

And that is what lots of people have done this last year. In this Corona-period they have taken on the coat of negativity.

Does it really matter if the glass is half-full or half-empty? Photo by Manki Kim on Unsplash

In the past year, several young people have taken on the mantle of the dark side of life. Many have lost positive thoughts towards the future. They see it all in such a gloomy light, while at the end of that dark tunnel there is a beautiful light in sight.

In these darker days let us decorate our homes with fine ornaments, colourful and luminous things, so that the darkness is somewhat hidden by our smiling light.

We may not forget that it really matters how we look at the glass in front of us.

In case we do not take it up to drink from the glass, someone else will do it. He or she might drink the contents and then we’ll see the glass completely empty.

He might think the glass will be left untouched, but in that instance, we shall have to doubt the nicety of the gathering, or perhaps the misjudgement of the host who hoped for more attendees than actually came. JYP would then see the beverage eventually attracting bugs and becoming gross. (What a waste.)

Were the invited people not in time because they were not sure to come by train or plane, or did they take so much time discussing what to wear, that they forgot the appointed time?

In any case, the glass still standing there might still be half full or half empty. When you look at it take it to be half full, and enjoy the rest of the evening sipping what is still leftover.

Don’t let Covid messages and lockdowns spoil your days, but make the most of these times of isolation and enjoy every moment you can.

Happy end of year celebrations!

Mediterranean Diet Reduces Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality

Examining a variety of diet quality methodologies will inform best practice use of diet quality indices for assessing all-cause and CVD mortality:

To examine the association between three diet quality indices (Australian Dietary Guideline Index, DGI; Dietary Inflammatory Index, DII; Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, MIND) and risk of all-cause mortality, CVD mortality and non-fatal CVD events up to 19 years later.

Data on 10,009 adults (51.8 years; 52% female) from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study were used. A food frequency questionnaire was used to calculate DGI, DII and MIND at baseline. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% CI of all-cause mortality, CVD mortality and non-fatal CVD events (stroke; myocardial infarction) according to 1 SD increase in diet quality, adjusted for age, sex, education, smoking, physical activity, energy intake, history of stroke or heart attack, and diabetes and hypertension status.

Results

Deaths due to all-cause (n = 1,955) and CVD (n = 520), and non-fatal CVD events (n = 264) were identified during mean follow-ups of 17.7, 17.4 and 9.6 years, respectively. For all-cause mortality, HRs associated with higher DGI, DII and MIND were 0.94 (95% CI: 0.89, 0.99), 1.08 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.15) and 0.93 (95% CI: 0.89, 0.98), respectively. For CVD mortality, HRs associated with higher DGI, DII and MIND were 0.93 (95% CI: 0.85, 0.99), 1.10 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.24) and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.98), respectively. There was limited evidence of associations between diet quality and non-fatal CVD events.

Conclusions

Folks with diabetes have higher-than-average risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, such as heart attacks and strokes. So it’s good to know about dietary habits that enhance longevity.

Better quality diet predicted lower risk of all-cause and CVD mortality in Australian adults, while a more inflammatory diet predicted higher mortality risk. These findings highlight the applicability of following Australian dietary guidelines, a Mediterranean style diet and a low-inflammatory diet for the reduction of all-cause and CVD mortality risk.

 

The Journal of Nutrition, nxab386, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxab386

From now on, a direct link to the little South America

On this website you could already read about a webshop that tries to support local small farmers and artists by buying their goods at decent prices and selling them in Europe.

Pequeña Sudamérica, or “Little South America” offers a variety of products on the European mainland. In the future, in addition to the multiple wines that the webshop already offers, it will also present the wines of the father of the Argentinian founder of the webshop. But apart from wines, beers and other food products, you will also be able to find items made by the Argentinian’s family members and friends. These handicrafts make the collection of offered objects unique in a way.

The webshop will regularly feature explanations and recipes in addition to offers so that you can get to know the products they offer better and make good use of them.

Also on yours truly’s blog, you will be able to find more information about those beautiful countries and their cuisine. On the blog Pequeña Sudamérica on WordPress, you will be able to make a virtual surprise tour and find more trivia and news from that kitchen. You are welcome to visit Pequeña Sudamérica on WordPress and to further explore the Pequeña Sudamérica webshop.

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Let South America come to you #1 Reasons to stay away from South America

Let South America come to you #2 For those with a good taste

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To get in the mood:

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Do you want to take control of your life?

A danger for our own personality is when we allow other people to take over our mind and control ourselves.
Mind and body have to be in unison with each other and when there is an unbalance we should find our way by meditative arts. Kounovsky, Yoga, Mindfulness and meditation a.o. can help to get back in balance, having a healthy body as a covering of a healthy spirit.
A lot f people also forget that there is a Word Which can bring us back on the right path and make us stronger to cope with all the difficulties of life. That book of book is available in so many languages that everybody, wherever living in the world, can get to read that Guide to live in the best way we can.

Anita's Perspectives on Life.

What are boundaries and how to set them?

As discussed in my last article on” Gaslighting”, some people try to control other people around them. The main reason behind this kind of mentality is gaining power over others through their actions. If you are in this kind of situation, it becomes very important to gain control over your own life, so that no one can overpower you and your life.

What is the most crucial part of taking charge of your life?

You should have full control over your body and mind. Mind and body connection is the link between a person’s thoughts, attitudes and behaviors. Everyone knows now that emotions can affect our physical health and longevity.

You must have experienced that your body responds to stress and anxiety or depression. When you are stressed, you might develop high blood pressure or headache. While feeling depression or anxiety, you…

View original post 686 more words

Afghanistan – A full-scale humanitarian crisis

Since the beginning of this year, more than half a million people have fled Afghanistan, bringing the total number of displaced people in Afghanistan to 3.5 million. Due to the rising cost of food, many of the Afghans forced to flee are struggling to survive. Many little children had to flee the increasing violence together with their families and are now living in a refugee camp. 80% of Afghans forced to flee are women and children.

Given the drastic increase in the number of people forced to flee, more help is urgently needed. The UNHCR priority is to make sure everyone has access to clean water, food and a safe place to sleep. To this end, they remain on the ground, working with local organizations to provide assistance where we can. Currently, they have access to all provinces. Every day, UNHCR colleagues on the ground assess what the most urgent needs are and how they can safely deliver aid. Meanwhile  they are also stockpiling emergency supplies in order to be as well prepared as possible for any changes in the situation.

You can help ensure that Afghan families get access to basic necessities.

•  Help UNHC: donate now
• Or gives us more means to help the refugees: BE37 9730 6618 2528 – BIC ARSPBE22 – Help Afghanistan

Quince Pie with or without quince

Today we do not encounter many small trees or shrubs of the rose family (Rosaceae), grown for its edible fruit, which deliver the ingredient for some tasty dessert. The fruit (kweepeer or kweeappel = quince)has a strong aroma and is astringent in the raw state but makes an excellent preserve and is often used to give flavour and sharpness to stewed or baked apples. In the past it was also often used in a sort of tart or cake. The flesh of the fruit, which you can not eat raw because very sour, takes on a pink colour when cooked, giving an attractive colour to jellies and conserves. Because the fruit contains a lot of pectins they are very suitable to be used in jellies.

This year it looks as if we are already some months in Autumn time. That is the time when those Cydonia oblonga fruits normally are harvested.  Harvest time is October/November, but you can keep quinces for a long time, and looking at the weather we are still going to have these days, it would be ideal to present it already now to warm us up.

The fragrant fruit, covered with green-grey down, originates from the Caucasus and was already greatly appreciated by the ancient Greeks. Today you will not find it mentioned in many recipe books, but there are many several recipes for quinces in medieval cookbooks, and sometimes it isn’t clear whether a recipe is for apples or quinces. Though with apples, pears, quinces or no quinces at all, underneath you may find links to two sample recipes. One is s a delicious type of sweet tart common to Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Italy, Egypt and Greece. You can use for it quince jam, dulce de batata, dulce de leche or guava. the other goes back to a very old recipe for which you can use quinces, boiled in clean water, or pears roasted 6 or 7, a quarter pound peeled almonds, a quarter-pound fresh curd or even dulce de leche or milk caramel, and a handful of raisins without pips.

Please find the recipes to make a lovely dessert:

>

1. Quince Pie
2. A very special pie from the sixteenth century

Community Farming

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Is Organic food even safe?

Nature's Kingdom

We all know that Food is the most essential requirement for the nourishment of human life. Even if a human being does not have shelter over their head or clothes over their body, they would still survive if they get wholesome nutrition. That is why all over human history, we have been motivated to search and seek food.

In March the Government has declared a Lockdown and people for Panic started living city, who staying in Bangalore they were facing lots of problems to buy grocery and daily needs, if they are in containment zone then nobody, where allowed, goes move out of the restricted area.

The community concept is for the people who care about fresh and healthy food, where local food come together to build and support community farms in their neighborhoods, and some assist community groups that are needed to govern the farm, some want to…

View original post 147 more words

Is Organic food even safe?

We all know that Food is the most essential requirement for the nourishment of human life. Even if a human being does not have shelter over their head or clothes over their body, they would still survive if they get wholesome nutrition. That is why all over human history, we have been motivated to search and seek food. {Community Farming}

For some years now we see that more people are looking for healthier ways to live and to eat. More people have become conscious about their ecological footprint.
Luckily there are more people who care about fresh and healthy food, where local food come together to build and support community farms in their neighbourhoods. In several areas we also see a new trend of people willing to go to farms to pluck the goods they need. Some assist community groups that are needed to govern the farm.

Those who simply wish to enjoy, healthy food or agricultural products grown without pesticides, fertilizer, or any other harmful chemical, are willing to pay a little bit extra for that healthier or less environmentally damaging food.

More people are aware that we need to take care more of nature. They want to accommodate the natural behaviour of plants, and to take care of them in a sustainable way.

But, people often forget that “Bio”-food is not always as healthy as it wants us to believe. Organic produce might not only be contaminated by pesticides permitted for organic production or airborne chemicals from conventional farms, but there is also always the possibility of contamination by groundwater and by air pollution from nearby factories.

Advantages of Organic Food

1. It contains no pesticides and fertilizers.
2. It is less harmful to the environment, as it reduces soil erosion, increases its fertility, saves water, and reduces pollution. It also protects natural habitat, such as birds who tend to get affected by the pesticides used in farms
3. More nutritious – We know we have used this word way too much. But, it is true. Organically grown foods are way nutritious than local ones
4. Provides strength – Makes us feel energetic, and therefore, increases our strength
5. Better taste – Who doesn’t like tasty food? So if you have not tried organic food yet, you now have a strong reason to.
   {Organic Food- Green and Clean}

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Next: Community Farming

Nature's Kingdom

organic fruits at a fruit stall

According to a growing body of data, natural foods may have some health benefits over conventionally farmed meals. Despite the fact that these studies have found food disparities, there is inadequate evidence to draw judgments about how these variations translate into overall health advantages.

Some of the potential benefits are as follows:

Fatty acids of the omega-3 variety are a type of fatty acid. The feeding needs of organic livestock production, such as the primary use of grass for cattle, result in higher quantities of omega-3 fatty acids, a type of fat that is less harmful to the heart than other fats. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in higher concentrations in organic foods, dairy, and eggs.

Metal that is hazardous. Cadmium is a toxic metal found naturally in soils and eaten by plants. Organic grains had somewhat lower cadmium levels than conventionally cultivated crops…

View original post 307 more words

Let South America come to you #2 For those with a good taste

When you can not go to South America, why do you not bring South America into your home?

For those with a good taste

From waterfalls to wines

South America is the continent that is home to a vast array of rich cultures, history, traditions, food, and once-in-a-lifetime places to visit.

Angel Falls, Venezuela | © David Kjelkerud / Flickr

When you would love to go exploring South America it would not be bad to prepare yourself and to get already some taste of it before you take the long voyage. A place you have to visit is the waterfall in the Guiana Highlands in Bolívar state, southeastern Venezuela, on the Churún River. Before you would like to fly over Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world, coming in at over 3000 feet it would not be bad to feel a bit like an angel tasting all sorts of well-tasting goods from that continent, which will bring you to the seventh heaven.

You also do not have to go straight away, deep in the Amazonian rainforest to find a melting pot of indigenous traditions and a perfect place to see centuries of Peruvian history and culture coming together.

Before you would go to the Belén Market, the largest traditional market in the Peruvian Amazon, and a place where visitors can taste and see the food, textiles, and wares of the region, on the web there is a place where you already can have a peep-show of some handicrafts from the South American continent

Mendoza, Argentina

Wines

As state and local governments order people to stay home to limit the spread of the virus, toilet paper and canned goods are not the only items people are snapping up. Wine sales at wine shops are soaring and large, highly-distributed wine brands are struggling to keep wines on the shelf.

Meanwhile, small wineries that depend on restaurants and on-site sales are trying to figure out how to survive. The question on the mind of everyone in the wine business is what will things look like on the other side when they get the virus under control.

Having poached the Malbec grape from Europe and turned it into a roaring superstar, Argentina is rightly celebrated for its wine producers.

The Mendoza region, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region, dominates Argentina’s wine scene. It enjoys prestige for the wine produced on its vineyards. It also can be refreshing to see genuine contenders from elsewhere, such as the Bodegas Callia from the San Juan province.

In the Mendoza region, you may find one of the original Bordeaux grape varieties from the Bordeaux region of France, namely Malbec. Because grown on a higher altitude then in France the wines tend to have a higher level of acid, which makes them ideal to go with the Argentinian meat.

The Cabernet Sauvignon which was introduced in Argentina in the 19th century by the French agricultural engineer Michel Amié Pouget. He further introduced Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Malbec vines to Argentina and founded the first vine nursery and agricultural school in his new country.

Located in the Tulum Valley, Bodegas Callia aims to produce the best Shiraz in Argentina.

Since we cannot go to South America, we will have to bring the heat and sun here. And what better way to do so than with a few good bottles of wine? Certainly when those wines earn it to keep on the palate.

The dry, hot climate of Argentina is really great for growing Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes ripen very easily, so these Cabs are almost always filled with tons of blackberries, cherry, pepper and vanilla with a little bit of mint. If you like rich, full-bodied wines with dark fruit flavours, then you might want to try a Cabernet Sauvignon from Navarro Correas Private Collection which since a few moths you now easily can get over here in Europe by an excellent deliverer.

When you are looking for a nice rich tempting wine with a big, nutty, creamy nose or bitter cherry awash with orange peel and gravely splendour, you might find it at Pequeña SudAmerica.

As the second largest country in South America and the eighth largest in the world by land mass, Argentina could even offer much more in case the country would have been more organised and receiving more support from those in charge.

Beers

Stylistically Argentina is perhaps the most European of Latin American countries, especially when it comes to cuisine. You can find the traditional wineries (the world’s fifth biggest wine producer) and you also may find the principal beer types which were based on central European styles of lager and wheat beer. It is impossible to taste every beer produced in South America, Pequeña Sudamerica offers a very good selection of 6 or 7 selected beers in a trial pack.

The historical influences in South America which have created a cuisine that offers a variety of delicacies has also brought some very, very tempting sweets around the corner. For diabetics is it not always so easy, because a lot of sweets and drinks are very sweet.
But nimble fingers and kitchen princesses can already prepare a lot for those who want a taste of that delicious South America.

Craftworks

It might not always be easy to bring Argentinian wines over to Europe, but for traditional artisans, it is even more difficult to get their goods over to Europe. Those craftsmen in particular have serious difficulties to virtuously market their products.

Carla Scalia

With corona-restrictions the Argentinian Carla Scalia, now living in Belgium, could only go twice to her home country to bring some beautiful handicrafts from her family and friends with her. Therefore those craft works are very limited. And because they are not made in a factory they are all individual pieces of art, which makes them special. This makes that when you might see some sculptures or drawing on the website, next time you come onto the website they already might be gone.

Mate Alados by Noelia Álvarez

All the South American accessories Pequeã SudAmerica is offering are hand made by local artists, and by selecting it properly at the artist’s workshop this is how they ensure to always offer you the best quality. As such they present mate cups of the best quality in an exclusive and unique design, hand painted and varnished for complete protection.

You also shall be able to find a selection of original accessories for your kitchen and table.

From the southern United States to northern South America the Lignum vitae, with its evergreen leaves can be found. As a source of a very hard and heavy wood that is brownish green in colour, the wood being relatively waterproof because of its high fat content, makes it ideal for making kitchen utilities. It is used to make pulleys, shafts, axles, and bowling balls, and Pequeña SudAmerica is offering the tropical wood in magnificent small objects, like food and toothpicks.

Argentinian artist Noelia Álvarez, who has performed incredible exhibitions in San Rafael, Mendoza and Buenos Aires in Argentina and Catalonia, Spain, is not only responsible for a great variety of mate cups with a unique design. Although her work focuses on paintings with incredible designs and details, Noelia has taken her passion to the limit and from painting large murals and paintings in acrylic on canvas, she designed very beautiful and exclusive wooden mate cups.

For sure, the founders of the webshop Pequeã Sudamerica took great risks to start their business to bring Sud American articles to the European continent, whilst there was and still is a Coronacrisis, limiting them going back and forth to Argentina to contact local traders, to support them and offer them a fair price for their goods. At the moment Carla Scalia her parent’s wines are not yet available, but perhaps this would be made possible in the future (when some good shipping arrangements could be organised).

Pequeña Sudamérica, or “Little South America”, has the goal to make South Americans in Europe taste home again, and get Europeans to experience their great specialities.
In addition to the best known mate tea brands, you shall be able to find a wide variety of drinks, delicacies and accessories.

We would say:

Enjoy some chocolate and dulce de leche products at your afternoon tea.

And enjoy South America at your home in our wet regions, so that the sun (at least) may shine in your house.

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Please find the shop:  https://pequena-sudamerica.eu/en/

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Let South America come to you #1 Reasons to stay away from South America

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