Belly fat tips: Guggulu is an effective Ayurvedic herb that can help you cut belly fat

If you have belly fat, then it is most likely a product of a poor lifestyle, binge drinking and bingeing on junk food too often. Having belly fat is sign a poor health. Some of the common health risks associated with belly fat include abdominal obesity, blood lipid disorders, inflammation, diabetes, insulin resistance and increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. In this article, we are going to talk about some Ayurvedic remedies that can help you get rid of belly fat. These Ayurvedic herbs work towards improving your metabolism and giving a boost to digestion. When consumed along with a healthy diet and belly fat exercises, these herbs can aid reduction of abdominal fat.

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Papaya benefits: Papaya is a fruit which is available throughout the season. It is low in calories, high in fibre and digestive enzymes that help in absorption of protein. All these features can together aid quick belly fat reduction.

Weight loss tips: Celebrity fitness trainer Kayla Itsines shares a quick core workout that can help you with weight loss and get rid of belly fat. Watch her video and try it right now!

If you want to get rid of belly fat, make sure you cut down on intake of refined carbs and do exercises targeting your abdominal muscles like planks, burpees, mountain climbers, medicine ball exercises, Russian twists, etc. Along with this, you can include the following medicines herbs in your diet for reducing belly fat effectively:

This may sound a little surprising but cinnamon contains medicinal properties that can boost metabolism and help you with weight loss. You can add this Ayurvedic ingredient in your teas or in tadkas of good. Having cinnamon tea first thing in the morning can be beneficial for losing belly fat.

Also read:Burn Belly Fat Quickly With This Short Core-Strengthening Workout; Watch Video

Triphala is made using dried fruits like haritaki, bibhitaki and amalaki. When mixed together to form tripahala, these herbs can help in eliminating toxins from the body. Triphala can restore healthy digestion, boost metabolism and help you get rid of stubborn belly fat.

Include triphala in your diet to get rid of belly fat Photo Credit: iStock

Malabar tamarind (garcinia cambogia) is a tropical fruit which can aid weight loss. The fruit has properties that can block your body's ability to make fat. Ingredients of the fruit can give a boost to metabolism and reduce appetite. Other benefits of including this fruit in diet include reducing stress, regulating blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Also read:This Is The Best Defence Against Deep Abdominal Belly Fat

Guggulu is an ancient herb which is used as part of ayurvedic medicines. It contains unsaturated steroids guggulsterone-which can boost metabolism, aid weight loss and help with belly fat reduction. You can add guggulu to your tea and have it in morning for effective results.

This Ayurvedic medicine can aid weight loss and belly fat reduction. It contains diuretic properties which can keep bladder and kidneys healthy. Punarvana can offer relief from water retention as well.

Fenugreek seeds are known for their digestion boosting and weight loss aiding properties. Galactomannan is a water-soluble component in fenugreek which reduces appetite and keeps you full for longer. It can also increase body's metabolic rate, making it easier for you to cut down stubborn belly fat.

Fenugreek seeds can cut down stubborn belly fat Photo Credit: iStock

Also read:A 5-Exercise Pilates Routine To Burn All The Belly Fat By Celebrity Trainer Yasmin Karachiwala

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.

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Belly Fat Diet: 6 Ayurvedic Herbs That Can Speed Up Belly Fat Loss - Doctor NDTV

OSHKOSH, Wi. (WBAY) - Wisconsin has one of the highest rates of death from falling in the nation. In fact, the state Department of Health Services reports Wisconsins rate is twice the national average.

Its just so incredibly disproportionate that out of the 8500 responses that the Oshkosh Fire Department does a year, 1500 to 1700 of those a year are for falls, said Oshkosh Fire Chief Michael Stanley. So very, very alarming statistics.

Oshkosh Fire Chief Michael Stanley says last year in Winnebago County 61 people died from falls, and through October this year there's been 45 deaths.

It's absolutely heartbreaking because you know once someone starts to fall, the falls generally get progressively worse to the point that they break a hip. You know, they break a hip they have to go into some type of facility, many times they'll develop pneumonia and a large percentage of those folks will die, said Stanley. So you know we see this rapid downward progression of the people were not able to have the independence and enjoy the lifestyle that they had.

Theres so many different factors when it comes to falls, said Winnebago County Public Health Nurse Erin Roberts.

Roberts says vision issues, hearing issues, diet, exercise, and even side effects from medications can all be contributing factors to a fall.

The problem is people dont always report their falls to their doctor.

I think people are afraid that somebody's going to come into their house and tell them that they can't be there anymore, said Roberts. But in reality, our whole purpose is to teach you prevention and teach you how not to fall.

People are scared or ashamed to talk about falls, said Jennifer Skolaski. So that's probably going to be another thing that comes out is how we have to normalize falls or at least normalize asking for help.

Skolaski is facilitating community listening sessions around Oshkosh, asking people what they think contributes to the problem. The sessions are part of a collaborative effort funded by the Basic Needs Giving Partnership.

It's obviously a concern for community, and people care about it and want to do something about it, said Skolaski.

The listening sessions are kept anonymous so people feel more open to share their stories. The information gathered at those sessions will be brought back to a number of city and county groups that are working together to figure out how to tackle the problem.

"Our hope is to figure out why people are falling and then how do we get them to utilize those resources that are out there," said Roberts.

We want to have a strategic plan for us all to use the same playbook to make sure that we're moving forward as a group to reduce this risk in our community, said Stanley.

The final public listening session will be held on Nov. 26 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the YMCA at 324 Washington Avenue in Oshkosh. There will also be an online survey sent out by the city of Oshkosh. People can also contact seniors@canpl.com for more information on the survey.

Some of the organizations involved in the fall prevention effort include: Evergreen Retirement Community, City of Oshkosh Fire Department, Rebuilding Together Fox Valley, Oshkosh Seniors Center, Winnebago County Health Department, Finding Balance Together, Wellness Plus, City of Oshkosh, Winnebago County Housing Authority, ADRC, Miravida Living, and the YMCA.

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Winnebago Co. groups looking into fall prevention, 61 deaths from falls in 2018 - WBAY

If youve never set foot inside a gym or even played any sport as a hobby, fret not. Not being active in the past cannot deter you from your weight loss goals in the present.

19-year-old Anshul Padamchand Pokharna tells us that growing up he had given very little importance to any kind of physical activities and sports and ate whatever he wanted. And, of course, the natural consequence of this lifestyle was a steady weight gain. Two years ago, I weighed a whopping 115 kgs, and was clearly obese. But what made matters even worse was the fact that I would get exhausted after 30 seconds of any sort of physical activity. Reason being I had never trained my body to do so before. This state of being ignited a spark inside me to better myself, he says.

"I lost 55 kgs in a span of two years with the help of the below weight loss plan. And now, I aspire to compete as an athlete and also help other people get fit. I have enrolled myself in a few fitness courses to gain more knowledge, he adds.

To lose weight, the first thing I did was join the gym. After joining the gym, I hired a personal trainer for 7 months and learned various forms of exercises for him. I also tried different kinds of weight loss diet plans during this period. He outlines both his weight loss exercise regime and diet plan below.

Flat bench press: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Incline bench press: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Decline bench press: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Incline Dumbbell Flyes: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Cable Crossover: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Tricep Pushdown: 4 sets,8-12 reps

Standing Dumbbell Tricep Extension: 4sets, 8-12 reps

Tricep Skull Crusher: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Superset

Dips: Tricep version 1 set, 25 reps

Pushups: 1 set, 30 reps

Cardio

Running

Abs

Air Bike: 1 min

Leg Raises: 1 min

Flutter Kick: 1 min

Russian Twist: 1 min

Deadlift: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Single Arm Dumbbell Row: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Lat PullDown: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Seated Cable Row: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Pull Ups: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Shrugs: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Barbell Curl: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Dumbbell Bicep Curl: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Hammer Curl: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Incline Dumbbell Curl: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Concentration Curl: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Cardio

Running

Barbell Squats: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Dumbbell Squats: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Dumbbell Lunges: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Leg Press: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Leg Extensions: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Leg curls: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Standing Calf Raises: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Overhead Press: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Arnold Dumbbell Press: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Side Lateral Raise: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Front Raise: 4 sets, 8-12 reps

Cardio

Running

Abs

Air Bike: 1 min

Leg Raises: 1 min

Flutter Kick: 1 min

Russian Twist: 1 min

ALSO READ: The key to not leaving the gym and staying motivated, according to The Rock

"After losing 27 kgs via the help of this routine and after following an eclectic slew of diets, I hit a weight loss plateau due to a setback and had also stopped gymming for a while in between. Thus, I was almost back to my old lifestyle. This resulted in a 10 kgs gain. So, to be able to start afresh, I started researching and reading a lot of different kinds body transformation articles online and came across an article of my current fitness coach and mentor. I approached him on Instagram and enrolled for a transformation program. I got quantified diets every 10 days and as the months passed, I started losing weight again and ultimately reached the best shape of my life."

My diet plan used to change every 10 days according to my body weight and condition. The food items used to remain the same but the Calories, Macros and Micros use to change.

Pre-workout: A cup of Black coffee

Post-workout (Breakfast): Protein shake + Chocos + Milk + Bananas

Lunch: Soya chunks + Rice + Butter

Snacks: Bread with a couple of slices of cheese

Dinner: Paneer + Rice + Butter

"This diet plan also comprised an unlimited surplus of veggies and Whey protein and multivitamins (as and when necessary)."

ALSO READ: How to lose weight by calculating your macronutrients right

Currently, I am in my gaining phase and weigh 73 kgs. But soon I will embark on a mini cut phase. However, I think I have been able to maintain my weight by working out regularly and tracking my calories. Since my goal is to compete as an athlete in the near future my diet is on point. I have found my passion in gym and now its a very integral part of my life.

ALSO READ: How many calories should you eat every day to lose weight?

Three magical words: Its worth it! All the hard work, pain and suffering in the beginning fades away as you start getting closer to your goals. More importantly, stay patient, consistent and determined because all good things take time.

Disclaimer: The diet and workout routines shared by the respondents may or may not be approved by diet and fitness experts. GQ India doesn't encourage or endorse the weight loss tips & tricks shared by the person in the article. Please consult an authorised medical professional before following any specific diet or workout routine mentioned above.

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How to lose weight like this guy who lost 55 kgs & is now learning about fitness to help others - GQ India - What a man's got to do

We've all heard that we should "eat less" and "move more" when trying to lose weight, but this advice is a little vague. Take eating less, for example: Exactly how many calories should you be aiming to cut each day to get the scale moving in the right direction?

How many calories you should cut to lose weight depends on where you are in your journey, but experts agree that 500 is a good place to start for most. Credit: 10'000 Hours/DigitalVision/GettyImages

To figure this out, your goal needs to be broken up into practical and digestible pieces. Sure, losing 5 pounds a week sounds great, but what it takes for most of us to do that is not enjoyable, sustainable or safe. Instead, set realistic and approachable daily and weekly goals that will help you get there. Here's how.

Did you know that keeping a food diary is one of the most effective ways to manage your weight? Download the MyPlate app to easily track calories, stay focused and achieve your goals!

For those looking to lose weight, sources like the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend cutting 500 to 750 calories a day. How did they land on that "magic range?" Well, cutting this amount from your diet each day should equate to about a 1 to 1.5 pounds weight loss each week, which is considered safe and maintainable in the long run, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Here's the breakdown on how that works:

In September 1958, a doctor named Max Wishnofsky published a paper in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluding that 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat. Thus, it's estimated that you need to burn about 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound. Based on this, if you cut about 500 to 750 calories a day from your diet, you should create a weekly calorie deficit between 3,500 and 5,250, which means you'll lose about 1 to 1.5 pounds in that timeframe.

While that sounds pretty straightforward, it's actually a bit more complex, as explained in a June 2014 Journal of Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics article. That's because when we lose weight, we don't just shed fat we lose a bit of water and muscle along with the fat. Additionally, as we lose weight, our metabolism typically slows for two reasons: There's less of us to feed and we're losing some muscle, which is metabolically active (aka helps us burn calories).

The takeaway? Cutting 500 to 750 calories a daily is still a safe and effective way to start your weight-loss journey. But as you begin to lose weight, you'll want to make adjustments to your calorie needs, especially if your weight loss plateaus. Additionally, incorporating resistance training as part of your exercise regimen will help you to maintain and build muscle, which boosts your metabolism.

Cutting more calories to reach your goal faster isn't a great idea. As mentioned earlier, sure, losing 5 pounds a week sounds efficient, but the calorie deprivation and extensive exercise it would take for most of us to reach that goal is exhausting, difficult to maintain and, quite frankly, unhealthy.

One way the "more is better" approach is counterproductive is by slowing your metabolism. When you drastically cut your calories, your body slows down in an attempt to conserve energy ("starvation mode"); the opposite of what you're looking for when trying to lose weight.

An August 2016 study published in Obesity looked at the long-term outcomes of The Biggest Loser contestants, known for weight-loss success as a result of significant calorie restriction and excessive exercise regimens. The study found that, immediately following the competition, the contestants' weight loss was significant but they were naturally burning about 600 calories less than when they started. And six years after the competition, their metabolisms had slowed even further.

A slowed metabolism as a result of cutting too many calories too quickly can happen in the short-term, too. An older study, published March 2006 in Environmental Health and Preventative Medicine, restricted daily intake to 1,462 and 1,114 calories in two groups of people over four days. Both groups of people lost the same amount of weight, but the lower-calorie group had a greater reduction in their basal metabolic rate (13 percent) compared to the other group (6 percent reduction).

You also run the risk of nutritional deficiencies if you're not getting enough calories and ultimately eating enough food. According to Harvard Health Publishing, women shouldn't dip below 1,200 calories per day, and men shouldn't consume less than 1,500 calories per day unless you're working with a healthcare professional.

The majority of people can use the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to determine how many calories they should be eating each day based on their sex, age and activity level. And if you're trying to lose weight initially, you can subtract 500 to 750 calories from that number to get you started, then adjust as needed as you go. But keep in mind that cutting that amount per day from your diet might not be appropriate for everyone, especially if it you puts you below the 1,200- or 1,500-calorie thresholds mentioned earlier for women and men, respectively.

To make it even easier on yourself, you can download the MyPlate tracker to determine your daily calorie needs to meet your specific goals. It also makes it easier to update your needs as your weight and exercise regimen change.

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If You Want to Lose Weight and Keep It Off, This is the Magic Number of Calories to Cut Every Day - LIVESTRONG.COM

A new study has found that a plant-based diet plays a role in preventing cognitive decline. The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looks at how diet affects risk of cognitive impairment in Chinese adults. Alzheimers disease and dementia plague 5 million Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As the population continues to age, this number will grow. Lifestyle factors including diet, exercise, drugs and alcohol play a role in determining health. This new study suggests that a plant-based diet, meaning one low in animal-products and high in fruits, whole grains and vegetables lowers the risk of cognitive decline. In the study, some participants followed the healthful plant-based diet index, along with five other healthy diets.Research found that those that followed one of the five prescribed diets were 18-33% less likely to develop cognitive issues. Professor Koh Woon Puay, of National University of Singapores (NUS) Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and the Duke-NUS Medical School, was the principal on the study. Professor Puay said of the findings, Our study suggests that maintaining a [healthful] dietary pattern is important for the prevention of onset and delay of cognitive impairment. Such a pattern is not about the restriction of a single food item but the composition of an overall pattern that recommends cutting back on red meats, especially if they are processed, and including lots of plant-based foods (vegetables, fruit, nuts, beans, whole grains) and fish. Plant-based diets are known to help chronic inflammation, heart health, allergies, gut health and more! For those of you interested in eating more plant-based, wehighly recommend downloading theFood Monster App with over 15,000 delicious recipes it is the largest meatless, plant-based, vegan and allergy-friendly recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about theenvironmentalandhealth benefitsof aplant-based diet. Check out the following resources and dont forget to check out our plant-basedhealth,foodandrecipesarchives for our latest content: For more Animal, Earth, Life, Vegan Food, Health, and Recipe content published daily, subscribe to the One Green Planet Newsletter! Lastly, being publicly-funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!

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Plant-Based Diet Linked to Improved Cognitive Health - Market Research Feed

Bernard Tyson, who headed up the giant healthcare organization, Kaiser Permanente, died in his sleep not long after our fascinating, inspiring and educational conversation. He had had heart problems in the past, but his sudden passing at age 60 was still a profound and immensely saddening shock.

As you will conclude from this two-part series, Tysons death leaves an enormous void. He acutely recognized and analyzed the problems with todays healthcare system, and he was pushing forward pioneering programs to not only rectify those problems but also profoundly and sweepingly improve the system. In this first part Tyson was vibrant, stirring and optimistic as he described how he got into the field and the innovative and sweeping measures he was enacting. In the second part, next week, we go into more detail on the things he was pursuing. He was, indeed, a joyful and engaging leader.

Tyson, who had spent his career with Kaiser Permanente, recognized that direct healthcare didnt have the biggest impact on the total health of an individual; it was the environment in which a person lived, his diet, exercise, the stresses he experienced in his everyday life, as well as other factors that were crucially important. He called our system today the fix-me system, which pushes volumetests, exams, surgical proceduresover value. He chafed at the stovepipes or silos that characterize most institutions, where labs, X-rays, specialists, etc. never seem to communicate. Tysons agenda included the creation of a truly integrated healthcare system, where information flows freely, breaking down internal barriers.

Bernard Tyson speaking about implementing innovations to improve healthcare.

He pushed community initiatives to make preventive practices a reality for more and more people. He believed in helpful follow-through when patients are discharged from the hospital.

Tyson was also adamant about removing the stigma that is still attached to mental health. Its time, he said, to reconnect the head to the body, and he enacted reforms to do just that.

The system Tyson headed is immense, with over 12 million insured members, more than 200,000 employees and $80 billion-plus in revenues.

But, as you will hear, Tyson learned early on that numbers represent unique individuals. His mission was leading the way to equity of care.

Original post:
TimelyAnd Highly RelevantInsights From Healthcare Innovator And Leader: The Late Bernard Tyson - Forbes

Last year, Americans borrowed more than $88 billion to pay for health care. One in four Americans skipped medical appointments because of concern about cost. Medical debt is the number one cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. These statistics reflect a trend of increasing costs and declining health outcomes that has been plaguing America for decades.

Back in 1970, the U.S. spent $74.6 billion on health care, but by 2017 that figure had skyrocketed to more than $3.5 trillion. And yet, despite this explosion in health care spending, American life expectancies declined for the first time in 2015, and again in 2016.

Paying for health care has defined much of the political conversation over the past several years, but is our spending making us healthier?

Almost everyone alive has some concern about dying. Mostly, we are worried about the loud killers: Will we die from a catastrophic accident such as a car collision or plane crash, or perhaps as the result of some violent crime? Yet it is the silent killers that ultimately cause the vast majority of deaths in this country heart disease, cancer and stroke.

And then there are the other silent killers obesity linked to poor diet and lack of exercise, as well as habits such as substance abuse and cigarette smoking. Despite the trillions of dollars being spent on health care each year, these killers remain difficult to stop. Some of it has to do with awareness. Americans are not being educated by the health care system about these dangers in time for them to make preventative lifestyle choices that can extend their lifespans and the amount of time that they enjoy good health.

The monetary incentive for doctors and health care professionals to keep people well pales in comparison to that of treating sick people. After all, the cost of prevention is often a fraction of the price of the cure for a malady. But we have proven that, as a society, we could easily go bankrupt trying to cure diseases once theyve reached a critical stage. Our money and focus are far better spent on the activities we can control to keep illnesses from becoming so deadly in the first place.

It is difficult to have conversations about these issues when most of us receive our health care from either the government bureaucracy, which sees us as just a number, or a private health system that sees us as just another dollar. Real health care transcends economics and delves into the social and community realms. It is only when we have long-term relationships with our doctors and medical professionals that real progress begins to take place.

Consumers also need to start asking better questions. Rather than asking how we can cure what ails us, we need to ask how we can maintain our health. What steps can we take, in terms of our lifestyle and behaviors, that help keep us healthy so we dont end up relying on cutting-edge, expensive medical procedures and pharmaceuticals after one of the silent killers has struck?

Luckily, the answers are out there. Health comes from eating a good diet, exercising regularly, getting good sleep and maintaining good relationships and from avoiding harmful behaviors such as smoking and abusing drugs. Avoiding chronic stress is important, too. Prayer and contemplation can reduce stress and build emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

These answers are not hard to conceptualize, but these simple, effective habits may be difficult for many people to implement because of the stresses of modern life and cultural factors. We could learn a lot from other parts of the world where prevention may be the only option. In many countries, the lions share of health care spending is on primary care. This has proven to be a far more efficient and effective use of resources than a misplaced emphasis on emergency care.

While the silent killers may be responsible for many of the bad health outcomes Americans experience, it may be silence itself that ultimately kills us. Among men especially, there is a hesitancy to speak up about problems until they reach the point where we cannot help but scream. Many of us dont get regular screenings for common diseases as we age; we may assume that if we dont know about it, then it doesnt exist.

This plainly does not work. We need to become more vocal about what ails us, and begin to speak up and make ourselves heard before it is too late.

Armstrong Williams (@ARightSide) is the owner and manager of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the Year. He is the author of Reawakening Virtues.

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Curing the silent killers: Speak up and ask the right questions | TheHill - The Hill

What does loneliness sound like? I asked this question on Twitter recently. You might expect that people would say silence, but they didnt. Their answers included:

The wind whistling in my chimney, because I only ever hear it when Im alone.

The hubbub of a pub heard when the door opens to the street.

The sound of a clicking radiator as it comes on or off.

The terrible din of early morning birds in suburban trees.

I suspect everyone has a sound associated with loneliness and personal alienation. Mine is the honk of Canadian geese, which takes me back to life as a 20-year-old student, living in halls after a break-up.

These sounds highlight that the experience of loneliness varies from person to personsomething that is not often recognized in our modern panic. We are in an epidemic; a mental health crisis. In 2018 the British government was so concerned that it created a Minister for Loneliness. Countries like Germany and Switzerland may follow suit. This language imagines that loneliness is a single, universal stateit is not. Loneliness is an emotion clusterit can be made up of a number of feelings, such as anger, shame, sadness, jealousy, and grief.

The loneliness of a single mother on the breadline, for example, is very different to that of an elderly man whose peers have died, or a teenager who is connected online but lacks offline friendships. And rural loneliness is different to urban loneliness.

By talking about loneliness as a virus or an epidemic, we medicalize it and seek simple, even pharmacological treatments. This year researchers announced that a loneliness pill is in the works. This move is part of a broader treatment of emotions as mental health problems, with interventions focusing on symptoms not causes.

But loneliness is physical as well as psychological. Its language and experience also changes over time.

Before 1800, the word loneliness was not particularly emotional: it simply connoted the state of being alone. The lexicographer Thomas Blounts Glossographia (1656) defined loneliness as one; an oneliness, or loneliness, a single or singleness. Loneliness usually denoted places rather than people: a lonely castle, a lonely tree, or wandering lonely as a cloud in Wordsworths poem of 1802.

In this period, oneliness was seldom negative. It allowed communion with God, as when Jesus withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:16). For many of the Romantics, nature served the same, quasi-religious or deistic function. Even without the presence of God, nature provided inspiration and health, themes that continue in some 21st-century environmentalism.

Critically, this interconnectedness between self and world (or God-in-world) was also found in medicine. There was no division of the mind and body, as exists today. Between the 2nd and the 18th centuries, medicine defined health depending on four humors: blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. Emotions depended on the balance of those humors, which were influenced by age, gender, and environment, including diet, exercise, sleep, and the quality of the air. Too much solitude, like too much hare meat, could be damaging. But that was a physical as well as a mental problem.

This holism between mental and physical healthby which one could target the body to treat the mindwas lost with the rise of 19th-century scientific medicine. The body and mind were separated into different systems and specialisms: psychology and psychiatry for the mind, cardiology for the heart.

This is why we view our emotions as situated in the brain. But in doing so, we often ignore the physical and lived experiences of emotion. This includes not only sound, but also touch, smell, and taste.

Studies of care homes suggest that lonely people get attached to material objects, even when they live with dementia and cant verbally express loneliness. Lonely people also benefit from physical interactions with pets. The heartbeats of dogs have even been found to synchronize with human owners; anxious hearts are calmed and happy hormones produced.

Providing spaces for people to eat socially has, as well as music, dance, and massage therapies, been found to reduce loneliness, even among people with PTSD. Working through the senses gives physical connectedness and belonging to people starved of social contact and companionable touch.

Terms like warm-hearted describe these social interactions. They come from historic ideas that connected a persons emotions and sociability to their physical organs. These heat-based metaphors are still used to describe emotions. And lonely people seem to crave hot baths and drinks, as though this physical warmth stands in for social warmth. Being conscious of language and material culture use, then, might help us assess if othersor weare lonely.

Until we tend to the physical as well as the psychological causes and signs of loneliness, we are unlikely to find a cure for a modern epidemic. Because this separation between mind and body reflects a broader division that has emerged between the individual and society, self, and world.

Many of the processes of modernity are predicated on individualism; on the conviction that we are distinct, entirely separate beings. At the same time as medical science parcelled up the body into different specialisms and divisions, the social and economic changes brought by modernityindustrialization, urbanization, individualismtransformed patterns of work, life, and leisure, creating secular alternatives to the God-in-world idea.

These transformations were justified by secularism. Physical and earthly bodies were redefined as material rather than spiritual: as resources that could be consumed. Narratives of evolution were adapted by social Darwinists who claimed that competitive individualism was not only justifiable, but inevitable. Classifications and divisions were the order of the day: between mind and body, nature and culture, self and others. Gone was the 18th-century sense of sociability in which, as Alexander Pope put it, self love and social be the same.

Little wonder then, that the language of loneliness has increased in the 21st century. Privatization, deregulation, and austerity have continued the forces of liberalization. And languages of loneliness thrive in the gaps created by the meaninglessness and powerlessness identified by Karl Marx and sociologist Emile Durkheim as synonymous with the post-industrial age.

Of course loneliness is not only about material want. Billionaires are lonely too. Poverty might increase loneliness linked to social isolation, but wealth is no buffer against the absence of meaning in the modern age. Nor is it useful in navigating the proliferation of 21st-century communities that exist (online and off) that lack the mutual obligation assured by earlier definitions of community as a source of common good.

I am not suggesting a return to the humors, or some fictitious, pre-industrial Arcadia. But I do think that more attention needs to be paid to lonelinesss complex history. In the context of this history, knee-jerk claims of an epidemic are revealed to be unhelpful. Instead, we must address what community means in the present, and acknowledge the myriad kinds of loneliness (positive and negative) that exist under modern individualism.

To do this we must tend to the body, for that is how we connect to the world, and each other, as sensory, physical beings.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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A pill for loneliness isn't the answer to our modern "epidemic" - Quartz

Get Healthy Rushcliffe is launching a new exercise on referral programme to help residents of Rushcliffe with long term health conditions become more physically active.

Exercise is a critical component of achieving a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Get Healthy Rushcliffe aims to make that as easy and as accessible as possible to those living in Rushcliffe.

By being more active, you can help reduce the likelihood of developing long term healthconditions such as heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes and high blood pressure.

Mark Lambourne, Managing Director of Parkwood Healthcare, the organisation behind theGet Healthy Rushcliffe project said that This is a fantastic opportunity for us to work with our partners at Lex Leisure and the wider health and social care community to help embed physical activity within the community of Rushcliffe.

The new 8 to 12 week programme allows residents of Rushcliffe who have been referredby their GP to engage in a personalised and safe exercise programme on a one to onebasis with a qualified instructor.

The programme offers expert advice in relation to health conditions and exercise. Our instructors are highly trained in planning and delivering programmes tailored to the needs and goals of the individual participants.

As part of the programme, participants are able to access the fantastic facilities at Bingham Leisure Centre, Cotgrave Leisure Centre, Keyworth Leisure Centre and Rushcliffe Arena at a discounted rate to enable them to take up more physical activity.

Rushcliffe Borough Councils Executive Manager for Communities Dave Mitchell said:Were delighted to support Get Healthy Rushcliffe at our leisure centres, building on theBoroughs great sport, lifestyle and place.

Encouraging those with health conditions to continue to be active is vital, whether in a role to assist recuperation or to make a significant difference in wider physical and mental wellbeing.

As well as an Exercise on Referral scheme, Get Healthy Rushcliffe also offers residents of Rushcliffe an online resource through which they can access advice, guidance and resources on how to stop smoking, eat a healthier diet, be more physically active, drinkless alcohol and maintain a healthier weight.

Anyone who is a resident of Rushcliffe is welcome to register at

http://www.gethealthyrushcliffe.co.uk to access the range of services that are available. If you would like more information please do not hesitate to contact us on 0115 784 5690, PARKWOOD.gethealthyrushcliffe@nhs.net or visit the website on http://www.gethealthyrushcliffe.co.uk

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New GP Exercise on Referral scheme to launch in Rushcliffe - West Bridgford Wire

Within minutes this week, two articles crossed my Twitter feed, both telling me how difficult it is to study some very important things.

One was on diet (Why Diet Research Is So Spectacularly Thin, by David S. Ludwig and Steven B. Heymsfield) and the other was on teaching writing (Scientific Evidence on How to Teach Writing Is Slim, by Jill Barshay).

The similarities beyond the headlines ("Thin"/"Slim") are striking. Both articles focus on the lack of high-quality research in their respective areas.

Conducting research on the effectiveness of diets is apparently quite difficult. While we may think that theres an easy metric against which were measuring (weight loss), the confounding variables make it very difficult to attribute any single outcome to a change. As the authors say, High quality trials are hard to do because diets, and the behavior of humans who consume them, are so complicated.

Diet interventions that may work in the short term may do long-term harm. Contestants on the reality show The Biggest Loser lost hundreds of pounds in a matter of months, but many of them quickly gained the weight back, sometimes surpassing their previous levels.

The extreme amounts of exercise and highly restricted diets are not sustainable. Theyre probably not healthy, either. Conflating weight loss with increasing health is probably a category-error mistake to begin with.

The authors close with a call for a Manhattan Project to find definitive answers to epidemics of diet-related disease. They want the research to have the same quality and rigor as pharmaceutical research that is meant to treat disease, rather than prevent it, as good diet can.

Im not in medicine, but I am a researcher. I wonder about that last bit, but lets table it while we look at the article on the research on teaching writing.

Jill Barshay quotes Robert Slavin of the Center for Research and Reform of Education at the Johns Hopkins School of Education, saying, Theres remarkably very little high-quality evidence of what works in writing.

The research problems in measuring writing are similar to dieting. It is difficult to find a true control group. And unlike diets, where we at least have weight loss (as problematic as that may be as our criteria), evaluating writing is inherently subjective.

Tested methodologies for writing show mixed and/or inconclusive results. What works in one group may not in another.

The commonality that Slavin did find is that Motivation seems to be the key: If students love to write, because their peers as well as their teachers are eager to see what they have to say, then they will write with energy and pleasure.

The research shows that the atmosphere in which students are learning makes a difference. What they are doing and who they are doing it for goes a long way to helping students write better because theyre more engaged to write more.

As to the lack of high-quality research, Im wondering if this is truly the problem we should be tackling or rather if we should expand our notion of what high-quality research looks like in these sorts of complicated human endeavors.

Isnt it possible, even likely, that in realms where human variability is at play, we are unlikely to find a single common approach that works best for all, or even most? As anyone who has tried diet and/or exercise has experienced, the chief problem is not necessarily whether or not the diet works -- the principle of taking in fewer calories than your body burns is pretty rock solid -- but whether or not the person can maintain the program itself.

The limiting factor on the success of a diet is not the quality of the diet, but the attitudes and experiences of the person.

The same is true, in my view, of writing. The key to improving as a writer is persistence. Good writers simply keep writing, and anything that keeps one writing is good. Trying to design experiments around these complicated things that meet these "high-quality" standards often involves moving the participants further and further away from the genuine, organic behaviors that attach to these activities in the real world. The diet or writing method that seems to work in the controlled lab experiment may not translate to the wider world. This is the exact problem with the highly prescriptive practice surrounding the use of the five-paragraph essay. Training students to pass the assessment that has become privileged has made them less capable as writers in general, while killing their spirits to boot.

Now that my own approach to teaching writing is out in the world, as embodied in Why They Cant Write and The Writers Practice, I am confronted with questions about how I know if my approach works.

I mean, I know it works. Ive refined it over years of working with students through a continuous process of qualitative research. Because it is not generalizable, qualitative research is not considered high quality, but this does not mean it is inherently low quality. When were looking at these complicated things where solutions are unlikely to be wholly generalizable, it is, in fact, invaluable.

One of the ways I measure the effectiveness of my approach is to ask students whether or not they think theyre learning. I find this to be meaningful data.

Another method I use is to ask students how they would approach an unfamiliar writing task. Here I am assessing the development of the writing practices, the skills, attitudes, knowledge and habits of mind of writers. If they can articulate an approach to a new writing problem, I know that eventually, through practice, the written artifact itself will become better and better.

I want to know how students feel about their writing abilities, whether or not they perceive an increase in their writing power. If I were a nutritionist, I would also want to know how my patients feel when on my program of diet and exercise. If they feel like crap and the experience is miserable, how could I ever expect them to persist?

A generalizable, quantifiable measurement simply doesnt apply here. It is a mismatch between desired information and methodology. The problem were studying is too complex, and what happens when it comes to writing and developing as a writer is a little different inside everyone.

I suspect this is why the available research finds that the writing atmosphere is important seem to be the most promising. Inside a good atmosphere, different students can travel different paths toward similar (yet still different in important ways) destinations.

As to the evidence I look for to see if The Writers Practice is working as I hoped, Im feeling pretty good about this.

Read more:
When "High-Quality" Evidence Maybe Shouldn't Be the Goal | Just Visiting - Inside Higher Ed