The Best and Worst Diets for Heart Health

Best: The DASH Diet

The acronym stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, and the plan was designed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute specifically to lower blood pressure and prevent hypertension. DASH emphasizes foods high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, and low in saturated fat, salt, and sugar, and the concept has withstood scientific scrutiny for 20 years: It’s effective for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

On the DASH Diet, you’ll be eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish, poultry, and low-fat dairy, while taking it easy on fatty meats, sweets, and high-sodium processed foods.

A typical day on the DASH Diet:

Breakfast

• Yogurt with fruit and nuts

Lunch

• Turkey and roasted vegetable sandwich on whole-wheat bread

Snack

• Vegetables with hummus or guacamole for a snack

Dinner

• Fish with vegetables and brown rice

Bottom line: The emphasis on eating whole foods without cutting out entire food groups makes the DASH Diet easier to stick to in the long run, and its proven effectiveness makes it a great heart-healthy plan.

Learn more about the best foods for lowering blood pressure.

 

The post The Best and Worst Diets for Heart Health appeared first on Reader's Digest.

from Diet & Weight Loss – Reader's Digest http://ift.tt/2nrW9hG

This Is What Fast Food Actually Does to Your Immune System

Don’t get enough sleep? Drink too much booze? Stressing out? These everyday habits could all be ruining your immune system, but the worst culprit may be your fast food habit.

A recent study out of the University of Bonn suggests that a typical “Western diet” (a lot of red meat, sugar, and saturated fat and not much fiber—basically synonymous with fast food) can kick the immune system into overdrive, causing inflammation. The study, published in the journal, Cell, goes on to connect that inflammatory response to serious conditions like cardiovascular diseases (read: stroke or heart attack) and type 2 diabetes, which itself can lead to cardiovascular diseases, as reported by Science Daily.

Researchers, led by Eicke Latz, MD, PhD, director of the Institute for Innate Immunity of the University of Bonn in Germany, placed mice on a Western diet and observed that after only one month, the mice had an inflammatory response akin to that triggered by a serious bacterial infection. “Fast food thus causes the body to quickly recruit a huge and powerful army,” noted the University of Bonn’s press release, as that process notably increases the immune cells in the mice’s blood.

Even worse? The immune response isn’t reversible, the scientists discovered. When they fed the mice a healthier diet for another month, the acute inflammation subsided, but genetic testing revealed permanent changes to the immune system. This is because “the innate immune system has a form of memory,” Dr. Latz explains. “After an infection [or in the case of the mice, exposure to fast food], the body’s defenses remain in a kind of alarm state, so that they can respond more quickly to a new attack.”

Although the precise mechanism behind this process remains to be determined, Dr. Latz sees the research results as a warning, especially for parents of young kids, and suggests nutrition play a more prominent role in early childhood education. “Children have a choice of what they eat every day,” he says. “We should enable them to make conscious decisions regarding their dietary habits.”

Make sure you avoid these other seemingly innocent habits that could be damaging your immune system.

The post This Is What Fast Food Actually Does to Your Immune System appeared first on Reader's Digest.

from Diet & Weight Loss – Reader's Digest http://ift.tt/2GC8190

10 Heart Healthy Meals Cardiologists Cook for Themselves

Olive tapenade

Olives are a staple of the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, and one of the best ways to incorporate them into the foods that you already eat is to make a tapenade. (Think: wraps, pasta dishes, pizzas, etc.) “Olives are antioxidant-rich, helping to lower bad cholesterol and the risk of heart disease,” says Jim Froehlich, MD, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan provider and University of Michigan cardiologist. “They also contain healthy monounsaturated fats, which reduce atherosclerosis and increase good cholesterol levels.”

Ingredients

Half-pound of Kalamata and green olives, pitted

1 anchovy fillet, rinsed

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tablespoons of capers

3 fresh basil leaves

2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Rinse olives in cool water.
2. Place all ingredients in food processor and process to combine thoroughly, until it becomes a coarse paste.
3. Transfer to bowl and serve with your favorite vegetables and toast points.

Here are other ways to make your diet more Mediterranean.

The post 10 Heart Healthy Meals Cardiologists Cook for Themselves appeared first on Reader's Digest.

from Diet & Weight Loss – Reader's Digest http://ift.tt/2rWxqGZ

9 Weight Loss Challenges That Are Totally Doable

30 Day Fitness Challenge

Of all the items you take care of, your smartphone ranks pretty high up on the priority list—because it’s home to your email, your connection to friends and family, your entertainment for long grocery store lines, your countless feeds, and frankly, everything else. While you’re on your phone perhaps checking out the best health and fitness apps, add one more: The straightforwardly named 30 Day Fitness Challenge app is a free way to make sticking to a “work out every single day” goal that much easier. Depending on whether you’d like to tone your full body or focus on glutes, arms or abs, you can select a program that matches your needs. New to working out? No worries! This program features easy, medium, and hard levels, as well as hands-on instruction. Though each workout usually takes under 15 minutes, it’s enough to motivate you to head to the gym and log in a longer sweat sesh.

Whole30

Staying physically active is essential to health—The Mayo Clinic recommends 150 minutes of fitness a week, but what you consume is equally, if not more, important. After all, if you finish every run with two cheeseburgers, fries, and a shake, chances are slim that you’ll drop a dress size in time for your cousin’s wedding. The issue many dieters face is pinpointing their specific areas of weakness in their eating habits. To the rescue is Whole30, a clean eating program that cuts out the common culprits—dairy, gluten, soy, legumes, alcohol, and sugar—for 30 days. It’s a bit tricky to follow since so many foods have hidden ingredients, but once you’ve completed the 30 days, you gradually add back these foods to see how your body responds. Armed with this information, you can shape your meal plans to steer clear of dairy, if it’s making you bloat, gluten if it’s not sitting well with your tummy, or another food that’s causing you to hold onto weight.

Whole30 says no-no to dairy, so here are some alternatives.

Meditation

Believe it or not, a little om can actually be a game-changer in weight loss. A study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University found that 25 days of meditation three days in a row can make a dramatic impact on your stress levels. And since stress causes you to hold onto weight thanks to the cortisol hormones that gets overworked when you’re overscheduled, the more in control you are of your habitual mental thoughts, the easier it will be to put your best foot forward with exercise and weight loss. Countless apps—like Headspace and Calm—offer challenges to keep you inspired to incorporate meditation into your routine. Even if you can’t squeeze in 25 minutes a day, consider implementing a meditation practice before bedtime to encourage better sleep, which hey, also contributes to a lower number on the scale!

Here are some ways to sneak some meditation into your life.

Pinterest targeted challenges

If you’re a new parent or a super-busy professional, or if logging sessions at the gym isn’t your style, an at-home fitness challenge might be your best bet. When you search Pinterest, you’ll find plenty of targeted challenges that will help you plank longer, go deeper into your squats, build some killer abs, or improve the lift of your bum in your go-to denim. Many of these challenges are created by trainers and won’t take more than 10 minutes out of your day. Even better, it could inspire you to try other methods of fitness when your calendar clears. This resistance band workout will work your whole body.

Content continues below ad

Aaptiv

Though technically not a challenge per se, Aaptiv is a smart choice for a seasoned exercise enthusiast who already knows how to burpee, mountain climb, high knee and jab, cross, hook, and uppercut. With a variety of workouts and fitness levels, this audio-only instruction is a smart way to stay focused and perfect your form. Consider encouraging a few pals to sign up for a membership so you can work out together from your respective homes, or at the very least, hold one another accountable to at least squeeze in a half hour on the daily.

Can you pass these everyday fitness tests?

Kayla Itsines Challenge

As the name of her program suggests, famous Australian fitness Instagrammer Kayla Itsines wants you to get swimsuit ready at any time of year. What started as a social media account has blossomed into a wide variety of workout plans—including the original Beach Body program, with workouts, meal recommendations, and other helpful tips. With very little equipment, you can complete all of Itsines’ workouts and potentially see changes in just a few weeks. It’s ideal for travelers or a newbie to fitness who is ready to get serious. Just watch out for these exercise moves that actually work against you.

FitGirlsGuide

If 30 days feels a tad overwhelming, why not adopt a leap-year mentality and go for 28 instead? FitGirls Guide, which was also made popular thanks to Instagram, is a 28-Day Jumpstart Program with all the tools you need to transform your lifestyle. In addition to a full workout plan that requires zero equipment, FitGirls also gives a meal plan that can be tailored to any diet, regardless of whether you’re gluten-free, vegan, or vegetarian. If your pals aren’t along for the adventure, don’t worry: There’s a huge community behind FitGirls, so you’ll always have some online support if you need a push. With your real-life friends, try these fun social activities that double as workouts.

Dry January

After the countless holiday parties and New Year’s celebrations, your liver is basically begging for a break. In addition to causing some major headaches and dehydration, excessive drinking can pack on the pounds. Since most alcohol is high in sugar and tough for your body to break down, boozing it up on the regular could be adding more to your waistline. One 30-day challenge that’s to-the-point is dry January, in where you forgo any vino, beer, or cocktails until February. While it might be a tad awkward in social settings, challenge yourself to grab a soda water with lime and be the designated driver—and ahem, Instagram photo taker—for the evening. If you’re doing the bartending, try whipping up these delicious mocktails.

Daily Burn

Especially if you work from home, wrangle children 24/7, or travel for work, online workouts make squeezing in exercise less stressful. If you get bored searching through countless YouTube videos to find one that’s actually effective, consider a Daily Burn membership. You’ll get specialized workout plans based on your goals, the opportunity to buy fitness equipment, including a heart-rate monitor to ensure that you’re putting in maximum effort and other features, as well as a live workout every morning. Make it your goal to complete a full month of these, kicking your mindset—and your bum!—into healthy gear. Check out the secrets of women who work out every day.

The post 9 Weight Loss Challenges That Are Totally Doable appeared first on Reader's Digest.

from Diet & Weight Loss – Reader's Digest http://ift.tt/2rVTyRS

6 Things to Know Before Your Hip Replacement

In this article, I have mentioned the 6 critical things one needs to know prior to his/her Hip Replacement Surgery. This information can be helpful to every type of individual by all means.

from Health and Fitness Articles from EzineArticles.com http://ift.tt/2E2cGCp

11 Things that Happen to Your Body If You Stop Eating Red Meat

You may lose a few pounds

Red meat is calorie-dense, so cutting it out of your daily diet could mean a lower number on the scale. “Most portions of meat are more than the actual protein requirement, and these larger portions can be replaced by alternative protein sources that are much lighter in calories, still satisfying, and also easier to digest,” says Sally Warren, PhD, traditional naturopath at Metro Integrative Pharmacy. “A three-ounce serving of beef can be around 170 calories, but a portion of beans can be around 100 calories and tofu around 70 calories, each supplying the same amount of protein.” It may not seem like a huge difference at first, but it can add up over time. Fish, chicken, and legumes are lighter calorie alternatives, and good replacements to choose. A 2015 review article in the Journal of General Internal Medicine reported that people on a vegetarian diet lost more weight than those on a non-vegetarian diet, although vegans shed more weight than people who still ate eggs and dairy products. Here are more benefits of a vegan diet.

The post 11 Things that Happen to Your Body If You Stop Eating Red Meat appeared first on Reader's Digest.

from Diet & Weight Loss – Reader's Digest http://ift.tt/2EnkzAq

10 Hidden Reasons Your Diet Isn’t Working

You aren’t getting enough calories

Wait, isn’t the point of a diet that you are supposed to cut calories? Yes, but according to registered dietitian and author of Belly Fat for Dummies Erin Palinski-Wade, RD, CDE, it’s only a piece of the puzzle. “A calorie is not just a calorie,” she says. “Depending on what you consume, calories from nutrients such as protein and unsaturated fat keep you full for an extended period, whereas calories from simple sugars digest rapidly.” If you’re cutting calories but not getting the proper vitamins, protein, and fiber you need, your weight loss plan is not going to work. According to a study from Japan, calorie restriction leads to slower metabolic rate, which means without enough calories, your body goes into survival mode, slowing down your metabolism to conserve energy and prevent weight loss. “Focus on improving the nutritional quality of your diet rather than your calorie intake for improved body weight and health,” Palinski-Wade says. Doctors wish you’d stop following these weight loss “tips.”

The post 10 Hidden Reasons Your Diet Isn’t Working appeared first on Reader's Digest.

from Diet & Weight Loss – Reader's Digest http://ift.tt/2rQZknF