Theres a reason people think President Trump has a cult of personality, but it may not be the reason you think.

Yes, there are those who think Trump was delivered to us by God and that his decisions and actions are imbued with divine providence and authority. But that sort of stuff is taking the word cult too literally. It harkens back to pre-Enlightenment notions like the divine right of kings, the Roman imperial cults or the Chinese mandate of heaven which were mainstream, not cultish, beliefs anyway.

As with so many words and ideas, cult of personality in the modern sense probably begins with Karl Marx, who used personality cult in a letter to a friend in 1877. Nikita Khrushchev cited that passage (and several later ones by Marx) in his famous 1956 secret speech, formally titled On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences. That address began the de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union and the de-escalation of Stalins terror.

Before I go on, let me state unequivocally that Trump isnt Stalin. Hes not even close.

Khrushchevs speech was monumentally important for numerous reasons, but Im going to focus on the part thats relevant to my point. In Marxist lingo, cult of personality is synonymous with cult of the individual indeed, Khrushchev used the phrases interchangeably in his speech. Both terms refer to the idea that a single person can be greater than the party, or wiser than the ideology the party stands for. Think: I alone can fix it. Such a mindset is a threat to the power of the party and the legitimacy of its doctrines.

Stalin didnt care. He encouraged, often through murder and terror, the idea that his judgment trumped any other authority or doctrine. He was infallible.

And it worked. During Khrushchevs speech, delivered to the cream of the Communist Party leadership, some members of the audience grew physically ill and had to leave the room it was that alien to their ears to hear Stalin criticized. Theres still a cult of Stalin in Russian. One might even say that Vladimir Putin is its high priest.

Of course, having dictatorial control over a country and possessing the will to murder and terrorize tens of millions makes it easier to cultivate a cult of personality.

None of that has much relevance to American politics today. But theres a simpler reason for a cult of personality: Its the only sustainable line of defense. Stalin violated party ideology all the time. He contradicted his past positions cavalierly, adopting and discarding ideas on a whim. He would even change his views to test his loyalists. Today, insist that chocolate ice cream is the best flavor and get everyone to agree with you. That way, if anyone disagrees tomorrow when you say its vanilla, youll know who the potential traitors in your midst are.

This is where Trumps cult of personality comes in. For several years theres been a kind of competition on the right to come up with a coherent intellectual or ideological framework to support Trumps presidency. Every single one that comes out of the clouds of theory to get close to the reality on the ground has crashed. Hes a nationalist who puts America first but says well await Saudi Arabias say-so on a military strike against Iran. He says he wants free trade but also thinks tariffs are good.

Just this past week, the same people who insisted that Trump would never collude with a foreign nation for his political interest are now defending collusion with foreign nation for his political interest. The people who turn crimson with rage when you point out Trumps decades of corrupt business practices now insist his only interest in the Bidens is his concern about corruption. They say its outrageous that Bidens son sat on the board of a Ukrainian company when Biden was vice president, but they also say its fine to have a daughter and son-in-law duo running vast swaths of foreign and domestic policy while also making a fortune from their business interests around the world. Enemies are sinful or decadent when they lie or cheat on their wives, but who are you to judge Comrade Trump?

Theres no halfway defensible ideological, intellectual or moral standard that Trump doesnt violate, often routinely. A cult of personality that replies Trumps right or his enemies are worse before the question is even asked is the only place to hide.

A doctrine of infallibility is the only defense of this deeply fallible man.

Jonah Goldberg is a Creators Syndicate columnist.

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Trump's defenders have adopted a doctrine of infallibility | News, Sports, Jobs - Williamsport Sun-Gazette

By: Professor William Kolbrener

The BDS movement in the US gets its lifeblood from the progressive academy post-humanist professors with a simplistic ideological narrative, and millennial students who assent to a tweetable narrative they can easily understand. In this narrative, Israel stands for the evils of Western modernity while a fantasy Palestine, sanitized of religious fundamentalism, intolerance and political extremism, stands for the alternative. An illiberal pedagogy, now dominant in the Humanities, drives home this plainly political agenda.

In the 1960s, the Chilean revolutionary pedagogue Paolo Freire, inPedagogy of the Oppressed, argued that the ruling class ensure education limits reflection, creativity and innovation among the people.

The resulting lack of historical contextualization of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Middle Eastern Studies Departments, when combined with the lack of historical memory among millennials, makes combatting BDS a particularly difficult challenge. An undergraduate, for example, will tweet theIrish Times Arab-Israeli Conflict in 10 Points which fails to mention the dates 1948 or 1973, without realizing the list may be controversial.

And its not just the millennial assent to BDS which is problematic. Also damaging is the surreptitious entry of anti-Israel sentiment into more moderate discourses about Israel. Moderation, reason, and liberalism per se are all now held under suspicion. BDS and the progressive coalition that supports it undermine the very language of liberal democracy and the principles of education which have informed it for at least a century. Indeed, it is the collapse of liberalism in America the emergence of populist left and right that most challenges Israeli claims to existence.

THE NEW PEDAGOGY: EDUCATION AS IDEOLOGICAL INITIATION

The attack on Israel as a central part of a neo-liberal hegemony is inculcated in a distinctive pedagogy in the contemporary post-humanist the human is also a category of domination, apparently Humanities. Famously, in the 1960s, the Chilean revolutionary pedagogue Paolo Freire, inPedagogy of the Oppressed, argued that the ruling class ensure education limits reflection, creativity and innovation among the people. Freire opposed this, believing that true education, and indeed civilization, depend upon dialogue, and if the relationship between educator and student is modelled on the Hegelian master-slave relationship, then the possibility of genuine communication is undermined.

Today, a new pedagogy of the oppressed manifests itself in the American academy, taking two forms. First, those enlightened to the colonial usurpation of Palestine by Israel enact the banking model of education in which the knowing woke professor deposits information into the passive mind of the student. This education-as-ideological-initiation parallels the model of education Freire criticized, encouraging acquiescence not initiative.

Second, students certain of the singular narrative they have imbibed, then themselves become agents working against critical reflection, as they refuse engagement or argument with other frameworks whether in other classrooms, on social media, or at home. Applied to Israel/Palestine, this new pedagogy of the oppressed involves the woke saying to those who disagree with them: dont you dare communicate with me. Indeed the invocation of rational discourse and democracy is viewed as entailing a surreptitious form of intellectual conquest. Skepticism towards liberal values and to Israel, now framed as the distillation of all the evils of the neo-liberal West is cast as critical thinking and becomes the most visible and effective form of virtue-signaling.

FRANKFURT SCHOOL

Central to the story of how Israel became associated with the historical sins of neo-liberalism, the failure of enlightenment, and the fundamentalism of religion is the work of the Frankfurt School in post-World War Two Germany, particularly of two Jews, Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer. Founded in the early years of the Weimar Republic, the Frankfurt School brought together Hegelian philosophy, Marxist political thought, and eventually Freudian psychoanalysis all under the rubric of a critique of Western capitalism. Under the threat of Nazism, Horkheimer and Adorno moved their School for Social Research from Frankfurt to Geneva, and eventually to New York in 1935.

Though made up of European intellectuals, including the neo-Freudian Eric Fromm and the sociologist Leo Lowenthal, by 1940 all the members of the Institute had become American citizens, with the Frankfurt critique of Western culture now emanating from Southern California. Outside of academic circles, Adorno became known for the proclamation no poetry after Auschwitz, by which he meant that the Nazi Death camps marked the end of any pretense of Western refinement and culture. How, after all, do you write a sonnet in the shadow of Auschwitz?

The pursuit of enlightenment and rational universalism, in Adornos view, led directly to the Nazis, with the distinction between civilization and barbarism blurred in the Final Solution. Enlightenment, in this reading, contains the seeds of its own destruction, the eventual domination of the world through a reason that had been rendered fully instrumental in the service of the State, leading ultimately to genocide. That is, for Adorno, the promises of enlightenment freedom led to fascism and the death camps.

In a bizarre, even perverse historical twist, the humanists of the 1980s appropriated the Frankfurt School antipathy towards Western enlightenment, providing a legacy for todays progressives, who have turned their suspicions against Israel and the Jews. Starting in the 1970s, Michel Foucault, the most influential figure in the humanities over the past four decades, adopted the perspective of the Frankfurt School for social and cultural history.

Writing on love, sex, mental illness, and the prison system, Foucault found all aspects of Western life to be in the fields of power, with hisDiscipline and Punishturning the prison into a metaphor for Western cultural domination. For Foucault and his followers, notwithstanding appearances, all social relations are governed by power. All reason is nothing but instrumental reason, whatever its garb, whatever its self-image. In fact, Foucault shows the ways in which the systemic institutional injustices of the civilized West have been pursued in the name of enlightenment values.

A self-acknowledged follower of Foucault, the Marxist literary critic Terry Eagleton gave voice to the still-prevalent academic gospel in his popularLiterary Theoryof 1983, that reason must be understood as a dominative instrument of patriarchy and Enlightenment, affirming with the latter pairing that enlightenment shares patriarchys bad name.

The Marxist literary critic, Edward Said, still the guiding-spirit of many American Middle Eastern Study Departments in America, re-packaged Foucault, calling the Enlightenment the master-sign of both Orientalism and colonialism. In the now canonicalOrientalism bridging between the continental literary criticism of the 70s and Marxist political activism Said linked Zionism, for him the colonialist projectpar excellence, and enlightenment rationality. That therealaims of the purveyors of enlightenment are power and domination is writ large in the Jewish State, standing as a symbol for all the excesses of the West.

Comparative Literature and Middle Eastern Studies Departments may currently be dominated by a post-modern ethos asserting the relativity of all values. Yet with the Frankfurt School ethos implicit in contemporary cultural and social critique emanating from Humanities Departments, Israel and the Jews serve as an anchor for a surreptitious new morality and an accompanying sanctimony, as not Nazi Germany but Israel represents the dystopian apotheosis of Western civilization. What starts with Frankfurt School as a critique of enlightenment reason and fascism is now turned against Israel and the Jews.

That newly-elected members of the US Congress are preparing for a visit to Israel/Palestine, expecting to find what the Fatah Central Committee Secretary Jibril Rajoub described as an Auschwitz in every city in Palestine shows the extent to which the Frankfurt School language condemning the Nazis has been turned on its head, now applied to Zionists and Jews.

THE UNIVERSITY

Progressives schooled in this social theory think of the modern university ascomplicitin this process of domination; a self-sustaining bastion of privileged neo-liberalism. In a post inElectronic Intifada, university administrators are said to be deeply embeddedin the project of corporate neoliberalism. Further, Zionism and neoliberalism converge, with the contemporary university said to align itself a page right out ofOrientalism with Zionism as a settler-colonial project. For progressives, colonialism is not only the privileged lens through which to understand the Jewish presence in the region, butthe only one.

For an even more colorful set of (mixed) metaphors, theNew Arabwebsite, decries the speaking tongues of liberal Zionism upon which Israeli-American neoliberal imperialism hangs its machine guns and parks its drones. The self-proclaimed objectiveNew Arabgoes on to associate rampaging Israelis slaughtering Palestinians and destroying their mosques with the amalgamation of Islamophobia, liberal Zionism, and neo-liberal imperialism.

On the pro-Palestinian web, political commentary turns into cartoon allegory. In this story, Israel, the struggling and the admittedly sometimes-challenged democracy is the villain, with the terrorist organization Hamas, remade through the romanticizing progressive lens, a band of heroic freedom fighters. Academics may not express this perspective in such hyperbolic term, but in concert with the BDS movement, they create a moral cosmos, as rigid as any to be found in conventional theologies, in which Israel represents all evils the colonialist nation-state, the false promises of liberal enlightenment, as well as the fundamentalism of religion.

With the wrongs of the West displaced onto the Jewish State, undergraduates in elite programs in America view the conflict through the allegorical lens provided by their progressive professors and anathamatize Israel. With that lens in place, progressives are taken in by the cynical uses of Islam, with Linda Sarsour the master of this art. Sarsours version of Islam, transformed for the Western media into a liberation theology, stands as a protest against the dominating ideologies of Western Judeo-Christianity. Islam, however, no less than Judaism or Christianity, carries with it the very hierarchical values against which progressives position themselves most adamantly.

But the Islamic purveyors of BDS mask their theological agenda, claimingtheirmonotheism enacts cutting-edge cultural and political practices, especially when it comes to gender, and on the way convince liberals that all evils of the West are somehow distilled in the support for the Jewish State. Indeed, the BDS movement and its progressive advocates and enablers embrace a version of the very theological movements to which most liberals still have a visceral antipathy.

Left populists, and those liberals embracing progress, in their political zeal, forget that the liberal values and institutions they have rejected, in fact enable their political voice and standing namely the belief in tolerance, a neutral public sphere and free speech. The millennial break with historical memory, which progressive university professors both cultivate and feed upon, fail to acknowledge that free speech is part of a 200-year-old, indeed fragile experiment, attempted in only a few corners of the world (and now failing in many of them).

That the current Israeli government has aligned itself with demagogues, and waged war against democratic institutions makes foregrounding the importance of liberal institutions and democracy even more critical. This emphatically doesnotmean siding with right-wing populists Bibi-supporting evangelists and MAGA Trumpers who are apologists for the idea of liberty and not its practice, but rather showing those committed to democracy that Zionism is an outgrowth of liberalism, not its contradiction.

Enlightenment and Zionism, as Adorno argued, are indeed linked. While the injustices wrought by the single-minded pursuit of enlightenment the domination of nature by instrumental reason have not been fully redressed, havent we learned in recent years that an imperfect reason is preferable to the savagery of demagogues and absolutists? Can we finally give up that very particular Western notion which has the status of a given in Humanist education today that enlightenment is worse than its alternatives?

Today, liberal Jews fail to remember what would have been obvious to Jews before World War Two, habituated to hatred and violence from both Left and Right. Intersectionality excludes Jewsnotbecause they represent, among all minorities, an unacceptable form of difference, not to be assimilated into a coalition of the oppressed.

But progressives, with their BDS agenda, push Jews away from their intersectional gatherings, because Israel is seen to represent all the core ideals Patriarchy, Nationalism, and Enlightenment rationality against which all other repressed minorities are united. The recent exclusion of Jews from intersectional gatherings is not then based upon a failure to understand Jewish minority claims, but on an ideology-driven image of the Jews and Israel as representing the antithesis of all progressive values.

But this war against the Jews, from both Left and Right, isalsoa war against the democratic traditions of the West. Zionism is part of the civilizational process,partof the liberal tradition. As it was in the 1930s in Germany, todays hatred of the Jews manifests the Wests own suicidal tendencies, its penchant for the irrational, now abetted by populist extremism on both sides.

Progressives may pay lip-service to the democratic institutions, but antisemitism reveals not only their enthrallment to the worlds oldest hatred, but to a populism that takes precedence over democratic values, and an educational tradition which values ideology over critical thinking. Those of us who are devoted to the traditions of classical liberalism should understand that BDS and its progressive advocates not only undermine the Jewish State, but also the very democratic institutions upon which our civilization depends. (isgap.org)

This article was originally published in Fathom.

William Kolbrener, professor of English Literature at Bar Ilan University, earned his MA from Oxford and his PhD from Columbia University. He is the author of books on the eighteenth-century British proto-feminist Mary Astell, as well as John Milton, the author of Paradise Lost. He has also written The Last Rabbi on Joseph Soloveitchik, and a collection of personal essays, Open Minded Torah. Kolbrener was a lecturer on the 2019 ISGAP-Oxford Summer Institute for Curriculum Development in Critical Antisemitism Studies.

Excerpt from:
Poisonous Pedagogy: Israel Hatred and the Collapse of Liberal Education - The Jewish Voice

James Martin is well-known for his cooking skills and has worked in a number of Michelin star restaurants during his career. He appeared on Saturday Kitchen for ten years before fronting his own show, Saturday Morning with James Martin. During his career, he has managed to slim down by a considerable amount and previously explained he dropped six stone. The chef opened up to reveal he cut fat from his diet and used exercise to shape up.

James explained he first started to lose weight when he took part in the reality dance series, Strictly Come Dancing.

At the start of the show, he weighed in at a staggering 19st 7lb but this soon changed as he began training.

Many celebrities will slim down during the series and James managed to dance off a whopping five stone.

The chef explained he managed to drop a further stone by monitoring his diet and he started by cutting out butter.

Not only did he ditch the condiment, James explained he tried to avoid foods high in fat altogether.

The popular chef explained he was inspired to get on top of his weight after seeing himself on the small screen.

Speaking to MailOnline, James said: You kind of watch and go, 'Oh God there's a bit of chin happening there'.

And everybody's TVs are bigger now. Before you used to watch TV on a small one and now they're massive."

James was also affected by negative comments he received from some viewers of his cooking show.

I looked on social media and every comment was about me being fat, he told The Sun.

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James Martin weight loss: Celebrity chef cut this from diet plan to shed a whopping 6st - Express

Kelvin Fletcher shot to fame with a starring role in Emmerdale in which he played Andy Sudden for 20 years. He is back on screen in the new series of Strictly Come Dancing and is partnered up with Oti Mabuse. In recent years, he has been whipped into shape and showed off his toned body when stripping down for ITVs All New Full Monty in 2018. What routine did he use to get into shape?

As he began to transform his body, Kelvin would post pictures of his new frame online.

He drew attention after sharing a picture of himself topless onto his Instagram page earlier this week.

Under the photo, one fan commented: If youve got it flaunt it, and you definitely have it.

What a lovely body! another praised.

On his account, the former Emmerdale star has uploaded videos of himself completing intense workouts.

In a string of videos, Kelvin gave a description of workouts he was doing at different sessions with his personal trainer.

In one post, he wrote: Session one is a lot of accessory work and focuses more on isolation type exercises, my coach has me training in the 65 to 70 per cent intensity range in contrast to some of my other days where Im training more strength focus type movements in the 80 to 85 per cent intensity range.

In another post, Kelvin filmed himself doing another routine and let fans know what he was doing.

He wrote: Session two workout is more strength-focused and mainly composed of compound lifts in contrast to my hypotrophy days.

Im working at around 75 to 85 per cent on these days and although I have no specific rep number I have to hit on paper, I do have a specific rep target Im aiming for on the first set of each exercise.

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Kelvin Fletcher fitness: Strictly star reveals intense fitness routine he used to bulk up - Express.co.uk

Visceral fat is also known as belly fat and is found inside the abdominal cavity. Fat cells in the body do more than simply store excess energy. They also produce hormones and inflammatory substances. Visceral fat cells are especially active and produce even more inflammatory markers. Over time, these hormones can promote long-lasting inflammation and increase the risk of chronic disease. So what can a person do to lose the fat?

As with most healthy regimes, it all starts in the kitchen, and a certain diet has been proven to help reduce a persons visceral fat and reduce their risk of dangerous health complications.

The Ketogenic diet (keto) has become increasingly popular with the health conscious and those wanting to shed fat.

Studies have found that the keto diet is extremely effective for weight loss.

Theres also evidence that the diet may be beneficial for certain cancers, Alzheimers disease and other disease.

The diet typically limits carbohydrates to 20-50 grams per day and promotes more protein. Foods allowed on the keto diet include:

The low-carb diet has been proven to help reduce visceral fat. In fact, many studies have shown that low-carb diets are more effective at reducing visceral than low-fat diets.

In a study with the US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, the association of a decrease in carbohydrate intake and the reduction in abdominal fat was investigated.

The three month study followed 76 patients consuming a diet low in carbohydrates and there abdominal fat was analysed.

At the end of the three month study, there was a significant decrease in abdominal fat in particular amongst the men.

The keto diet drastically reduces carb intake and replace it with fat.

This can put a person in a metabolic state known as ketosis whereby visceral fat is lost.

Following the keto will make a person lose belly fat, however, it is also strongly advised to do more aerobic exercise whilst following the diet for maximum results.

Many studies have shown that aerobic exercises can help a person lose visceral fat.

Combining regular aerobic exercise with a healthy diet is more effective at targeting visceral fat.

Read more:
How to get rid of visceral fat: The number one diet to significantly reduce the belly fat - Express

High blood pressure affects one in four adults in the UK. The condition is often branded the silent killer because it usually goes undetected until it is serious. Having a high blood pressure reading can raise a persons risk of developing serious complications such as heart disease. Recognising the warning signs is crucial along with eating the correct foods. This diet has been highly recommended for those with high blood pressure.

The DASH diet stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and is a lifelong approach to healthy eating thats designed to help treat or prevent high blood pressure.

The DASH diet plan was developed to lower blood pressure without having to take medication.

The DASH diet encourages a person to reduce sodium in their diet and eat a variety of foods rich in nutrients that help lower blood pressure, such a potassium, calcium and magnesium. If a person eats too much salt, or sodium, in their diet, extra water will be stored in the body and this raises blood pressure.

So, the more salt a person eats, the higher the blood pressure will be. This is why the DASH diet is highly recommended for those suffering with high blood pressure.

The DASH diet emphasises vegetables, fruits and low-fat dairy foods with moderate amounts of whole grains, fish, poultry and nuts.

There are two variations to the diet, the standard DASH diet where a person can consume up to 2,300 mg of sodium a day and the lower sodium DASH diet, where a person can consume 1,500 mg of sodium a day.

The American Heart Association recommends 1,500 mg a day of sodium a day for all adults.

The diet recommends whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products.

The DASH diet also includes some fish, poultry and legumes, and encourages a small amount of nuts and seeds a few times a week.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation said on their website: The DASH diet has the greatest effect on blood pressure, lowering levels within two weeks of starting the plan.

"Not only was blood pressure reduced, but total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or bad cholesterol: were lower too.

Foods recommended on the DASH diet include vegetables, fruit, grains, lower fat foods, lean meats, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, dry beans and fats and oils.

Following the DASH diet and ensuring at least 150 minutes of exercise a week will ensure blood pressure remains healthy.

Originally posted here:
High blood pressure: Best diet to lower your reading - what foods should you eat? - Express

Diabetes management requires a constant check on the blood sugar levels. Ad diabetic should maintain healthy blood sugar levels to control the complication of diabetes. The diet consumed majorly affect blood sugar levels. A diabetes diet should include foods that can naturally control blood sugar levels or those which donot impact the blood sugar levels negatively. There are various foods that help control blood sugar levels. Just like these foods turmeric, the golden spice is good for diabetes patients. Along with a healthy diet and lifestyle, adding turmeric to your diabetic diet can help you lower your blood sugar levels and manage diabetes effectively.

Turmeric is loaded with medicinal properties. This amazing spice is found in almost every Indian kitchen and is widely used for both medical and non-medical purposes. A study published in 2013 also suggested that curcumin present in turmeric can reduce the level of glucose in blood and control other complications of diabetes.

Also read:Diabetes: Exercise Tips To Manage Blood Sugar Levels; Benefits Of Exercising For Diabetics

Chief Dietician Ms. Pavithra N Raj explains, "Turmeric is made up of a component called curcumin and substance is called Curcuma Longa, which has many health benefits because it is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. These antioxidants help in fighting against free radicals which can cause oxidative damage. Curcumin component in turmeric helps to prevent fatty deposits in the blood vessels of your body and prevent the growth of fatty tissue.

Studies on animals have shown that curcumin, improves the activity and performance of pancreatic cells, called beta cells, by repairing and regenerating these beta cells. The spice also reduces glucose creation in the liver. Increase insulin sensitivity, which leads to lower blood sugar levels. It can be used for the preparation of all curries as a major spice or a pinch can be added to a glass of milk daily.

Turmeric has following beneficial effects:

Diabetes: Turmeric can help you control blood sugar levels with regular consumptionPhoto Credit: iStock

Nutritionist, Soumita Biswas also explains "Turmeric affects glycemia as well as Diabetes mellitus. The active constituents of turmeric are flavonoid Curcumin (doferuloymethane) improves insulin resistance. It is a constituent of the medicine which is used to treat Diabetes. According to studies, it has a beneficial effect on diabetic-related complications such as liver disorder, adipocyte dysfunction, neuropathy, nephropathy, pancreatic disorder etc."

Also read:Diabetes: These Leaves Can Lower Your Blood Sugar Levels Effectively; Learn How To Use Them

"In Indian diet turmeric can be used in all the curries and in most of the preparations. Those who do not use it in cooking can consume raw turmeric on an empty stomach for it's anti-inflammatory property. The dose of turmeric is 500-2000mg per day, which is generally covered in an Indian diet," Soumita explains.

Diabetes: You can also prepare turmeric milk for better management of blood sugar levelsPhoto Credit: iStock

Also read:Turmeric Milk: Reasons Why You Should Be Drinking Golden Milk; Method To Prepare It

Add turmeric to your diet for better management of blood sugar levels and also follow all the guidelines shared by your doctor.

(Ms. Pavithra N Raj, Chief Dietician, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital Yeshwanthpur)

(Soumita Biswas, Nutritionist, Aster RV Hospital)

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.

Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on NDTV.com. Catch all the Live TV action on NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for latest news and live news updates.

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Diabetes: Turmeric Can Help You Control Blood Sugar Levels; Here's Is The Right Method To Use It - NDTV News

Weight loss: If you want to eat less and reduce calorie intake to lose weight, try eating alone

Tips for weight loss: If you are planning to cut down on your daily food intake to get into shape, better dine alone as a new research has found that people tend to eat more with friends and family.

Eating "socially" has a powerful effect on increasing food intake relative to dining alone, said the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

"We found strong evidence that people eat more food when dining with friends and family than when alone," said research leader Helen Ruddock from the University of Birmingham in Britain.

Previous studies found that those eating with others ate up to 48 per cent more food than solo diners and women with obesity eating socially consumed up to 29 per cent more than when eating alone.

Also read:Protein-Rich Pulses Can Help You Lose Weight, Here's How

For the study, the researchers evaluated 42 existing studies of research into social dining.

The researchers found that people eat more with friends and family because having food with others is more enjoyable and social eating could increase consumption.

Social norms might 'permit' overeating in company but sanction it when eating alone and providing food becomes associated with praise and recognition from friends and family, strengthening social bonds.

The researchers called the phenomenon of eating more with friends and family "social facilitation".

You tend to eat more with friends and familyPhoto Credit: iStock

They found that this social facilitation effect on eating was not observed across studies which had looked at food intake amongst people who were not well acquainted.

"People want to convey positive impressions to strangers. Selecting small portions may provide a means of doing so and this may be why the social facilitation of eating is less pronounced amongst groups of strangers," Ruddock said.

The researchers explained that ancient hunter gatherers shared food because it ensured equitable food distribution.

In the case of social facilitation, we have inherited a mechanism that now exerts a powerful influence on unhealthy dietary intakes, the researchers said.

Also read:Instead Of Tracking Calories And Steps, Try These 5 Mindful Apps

Weight loss is no rocket science. Leading nutritionists and health experts are of the opinion that a healthy and balanced diet combined with regular exercise and a healthy lifestyle is the key to quick and sustainable weight loss. Following are tips you must follow for healthy, sustainable and quick weight loss that doesn't lead to any nutritional deficiencies:

1. Balanced diet: Do not exclude any major food group like fats and carbs from your diet. Prefer home-cooked most of the times and avoid consumption of refined carbs (bread and pasta), deep fried, junk, processed and packaged food at all times Practice portion control to manage your calorie consumption and preventing overeating.

2. Get regular with exercise: You need to burn more calories if you want to lose weight and this is what exercise is meant for. Do cardio exercises for losing weight but do not forget weight training and strength training. Weight training and strength training is required to build muscles, tone your body and also improve your physical strength.

Get regular with exercise to lose weight quickly and efficientlyPhoto Credit: iStock

3. Take less stress: If you are stressed, weight loss is going to be more difficult than you can imagine. Stress can also lead to diabetes, thyroid, PCOS and other issues related to hormonal imbalance. Stress can be detrimental to your health and weight loss goals. Change your attitude towards stress and indulge in activities that you enjoy to feel less stressed. You can also try yoga and meditation.

Also read:Weight Loss Diet: Essential Nutrients You Need For Losing Weight Quickly

4. Sleep well: Lack of sufficient sleep can be a cause of weight gain and also why you have been unable to lose weight despite trying. Getting 8 hours of sleep every day, without fail, is important for losing weight quickly and efficiently.

5. Quit smoking and alcohol: These sedentary lifestyle habits can not only make you prone to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, liver issues and cancer, they can also make weight loss more difficult than usual. Quit them today to lose weight quickly and efficiently.

6. Try intermittent fasting: Intermittent fasting is a technique which involves eating for only a certain part of the day and fasting for the rest. Fasting period in intermittent fast can begin after you have an early dinner-say around 7 pm or 8 pm. You can fast for 12, 14 or 16 hours (whatever makes you feel comfortable, do not starve yourself and listen to your body). Eat a balanced diet during eating phase. This lifestyle change can restore good digestion and also help you lose weight easily.

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.

Get Breaking news, live coverage, and Latest News from India and around the world on NDTV.com. Catch all the Live TV action on NDTV 24x7 and NDTV India. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter and Instagram for latest news and live news updates.

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Weight Loss Tips: Eat Alone To Eat Less, Says Study - Other Helpful Tips For Weight Loss You Must Follow - NDTV News

Sarah Ferguson, also known as Fergie, was once married to Prince Andrew and they have two children together, Princess Beatrice, 31, and Princess Eugenie, 29. Over the years, royal fans may have noticed her weight change and she has opened up about her diet in the past. She explained she dropped 3st 13lb and slimmed from 13st 5lb to a much slimmer 9st 6lb. How did she do it?

READ MORE: Trainer reveals five moves to burn belly fat - full workout plan here

On The Today Show in 2015, the Duchess explained she was addicted to food before shaping up.

She said: My addiction was food. I used it to suppress my feelings and therefore every time I went through something - a salacious lie the media might tell about me - I ate to compensate.

"I got to a point where I just couldn't bear looking at myself any minute longer. I was 190 pounds a year ago and I was miserable. You look at the top of the mountain, you think you're never going to get there."

Sarah worked as the face of Weight Watchers, which she claimed helped her slim down by a considerable amount.

At the time she said: It was my difficulties with weight control that made Weight Watchers approach me to be their spokesperson.

That relationship changed my life, marking an important turning point when my weight, health, personal life and finances all started to come under control.

In 2016, the Mail Online reported she would eat foods including tomatoes, egg mayonnaise and mandarins to stay slim.

As well as changing her diet, Fergie previously spoke about personal trainer Josh Salzmann in a testimonial.

She wrote: Fitness is mind, body and spirit, Josh always says'Free your mind and your bottom will follow I personally believe in listening to your body and smart training.

Dont overtrain, and sleep and good nutrition are just as important. All of these values have been taught by Josh to me and I personally can say I have lost close to 50 pounds, by not overtraining and incorporating the above disciplines.

Sarah is the mother of Princess Beatrice, who recently revealed she was engaged to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who apparently proposed with a ring worth 60,000.

She shared her excitement over her daughters engagement by posting a series of snaps on Instagram.

Sarah wrote: "I know what a mother feels so I have tears of joy. I am so proud of this sensational news. Andrew and I are just the luckiest people ever to have two great sons in law.

"@princesseugenie took the colour photographs as my girls are so close. Beatrice and Edo wanted her to capture this special moment."

Princess Eugenie ditched Sarahs York tiara at her wedding but it is likely to be an option when Beatrice ties the knot.

Childhood

Sarah is the second daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and Susan Mary Wright.

Her parents divorced in 1974, with her mother going on to marry polo player Hctor Barrantes in 1975 and moving to Argentina. Sarah stayed in the UK with her father, who remarried in 1976 and went on to have three more children.

Wedding

Sarah married Prince Andrew on 23 July 1986 at Westminster Abbey in London.

She wore an ivory-silk wedding gown designed by Lindka Cierarch which had a 17 foot train and 20 foot veil. As is tradition, Sarah wore a diamond tiara, and her wedding band was crafted from Welsh gold.

The couple spent their honeymoon abroad the real yacht Britannia off the coast of the Azores Islands.

Divorce

Sarah and Andrew divorced in 1996 after separating in 1992.

However the couple remain on good terms, even living together in the Royal Lodge from 2008 until Sarah moved to a ski chalet in Switzerland they bought together in 2015.

Career

Sarah has written childrens books for many years, her first being a series about Budgie The Helicopter in the early 90s.

She has also been the US spokeswoman for WeightWatchers after famously battling her weight over the years.

On top of commercial endeavours, the Duchess devotes plenty of time to charity, including Children in Crisis, which she founded in 1993.

Social media

Fergie, as she is known to friends, uses both Twitter and Instagram.

She has over 200,000 followers across the platforms, and shares many insights in to her life.

Most of the Royal Family are not on social media, but are represented by Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, or Clarence House.

Sarahs daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, are the exception, with both joining their mother on social media.

Read more:
Sarah Ferguson made this change in her diet to lose an incredible four stone - Express

Comedian and former The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, along with his wife, Tracey Stewart, are both committed vegans, which means that they follow blant-based diets and steer clear of animal products. Now, the couple has officially backed a campaign called Lets Beat Breast Cancer, which encourages women to stave off breast cancer by following a vegan diet (eating plant-based foods), limiting their alcohol intake, exercising often, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Three of these prongs to the approach are more or less uncontested. Few would argue with Stewart and the over 12,000 doctors and dietitians in the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (the group that established the campaign) about the benefits of diet, exercise, and moderate alcohol consumption.

But what about the plant-based part? Is it true that eating a vegan diet can decrease your breast cancer risk? Experts have told SurvivorNet that the evidence is clear: fruits, veggies, whole grains, and plant-based proteins such as lentils, beans, and soy can help prevent cancer. Thats because these foods are part of an anti-inflammatory diet, which reduces inflammation that could eventually lead to cancer.

Krista Maruschak, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet about how the anti-inflammatory diet decreases cancer risk. Inflammation in the body can cause a whole host of health conditions and co-morbidities, she said. And inflammation is really increased by refined carbohydrates, like white breads, white pastas, white rice, sweet desserts, as well as high fat, saturated fat, and meats like red meat [and processed meat].

Additionally, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine backing the campaign that Jon Stewart just joined, Healthful foods from plants(vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans) lower breast cancer risk in several ways. They help with weight loss, because they are typically low in calories and high in appetite-taming fiber. In addition, high-fiber, low-fat diets can help you gently reduce estrogen levels. In turn, lower estrogen levels can lower your risk of cancer.

One of the plant-based foods that the campaign really encourages women to eat more of is soy which is full of healthy protein and protective substances called isoflavones. Soy is also really versatile and easy to add to your diet (tofu and soy milk, for instance).

Krista Maruschak spoke with SurvivorNet about how soys bad rap is unwarranted.

Interestingly, for a lot of women who have heard that soy contains estrogen, this may sound counterintuitive (because estrogen can fuel certain types of breast cancer). But according to Maruschak, the type of estrogen found in soy plant estrogen is completely different than the type of soy inside our bodies. Soy does not cause breast cancer, she reassured SurvivorNet. Even if somebody has an estrogen-positive breast cancer, we stil recommend that they can have up to three servings of whole soy products a day. Whole soy products can be incorporated into a healthy diet and should be incorporated into a healthy diet as a plant-based protein source.

RELATED:Major Reduction in Cancer Risk by Following Old Standbys Diet and Exercise

As soon as the Lets Beat Breast Cancer Campaign launched and Jon Stewart and several other celebrity names stepped up to support it, pro-vegan groups, including the vegan news site, Veg News, stepped up to champion the campaign. Vegans of course, exclusively eat plant-based foods and tend to steer clear of meat and animal products altogether.

RELATED: Meat is Not the Enemy

But cutting out from your diet entirely, its worth noting, isnt necessary to reduce your risk of breast cancer (or really any cancer). According to Maruschak, lean meats such as turkey and fish as well as animal products like eggs are actually part of that good-for-you anti-inflammatory diet she mentioned.

RELATED: Even Moderate Amounts of Red Meat Can Sharply Increase Risk Of Colorectal Cancer, New Study Finds

The problem with meat lies in the way its processed or cooked. The evidence is clear that too much charred meat, red meat, or processed meat such as sausages and hot dogs can up your cancer risk (even as headlines this past week said otherwise).

RELATED:The Evidence Says Red and Processed Meat Carries a Cancer Risk Even As TV Host Piers Morgan Endorses Bacon is Safe Headlines

Dr. Stephen Freedland,the Director of the Center for Integrated Research in Cancer at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,told SurvivorNetthat while meat itself isnt the enemy, the way that we process and cook our meats can cause cancer. TheWorld Health Organization, its worth noting, classifies processed meat as a carcinogen (meaning cancer-causing) to humans.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

Comedian and former The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, along with his wife, Tracey Stewart, are both committed vegans, which means that they follow blant-based diets and steer clear of animal products. Now, the couple has officially backed a campaign called Lets Beat Breast Cancer, which encourages women to stave off breast cancer by following a vegan diet (eating plant-based foods), limiting their alcohol intake, exercising often, and maintaining a healthy weight.

Three of these prongs to the approach are more or less uncontested. Few would argue with Stewart and the over 12,000 doctors and dietitians in the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (the group that established the campaign) about the benefits of diet, exercise, and moderate alcohol consumption.

Krista Maruschak, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center, previously told SurvivorNet about how the anti-inflammatory diet decreases cancer risk. Inflammation in the body can cause a whole host of health conditions and co-morbidities, she said. And inflammation is really increased by refined carbohydrates, like white breads, white pastas, white rice, sweet desserts, as well as high fat, saturated fat, and meats like red meat [and processed meat].

Additionally, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine backing the campaign that Jon Stewart just joined, Healthful foods from plants(vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans) lower breast cancer risk in several ways. They help with weight loss, because they are typically low in calories and high in appetite-taming fiber. In addition, high-fiber, low-fat diets can help you gently reduce estrogen levels. In turn, lower estrogen levels can lower your risk of cancer.

One of the plant-based foods that the campaign really encourages women to eat more of is soy which is full of healthy protein and protective substances called isoflavones. Soy is also really versatile and easy to add to your diet (tofu and soy milk, for instance).

Krista Maruschak spoke with SurvivorNet about how soys bad rap is unwarranted.

Interestingly, for a lot of women who have heard that soy contains estrogen, this may sound counterintuitive (because estrogen can fuel certain types of breast cancer). But according to Maruschak, the type of estrogen found in soy plant estrogen is completely different than the type of soy inside our bodies. Soy does not cause breast cancer, she reassured SurvivorNet. Even if somebody has an estrogen-positive breast cancer, we stil recommend that they can have up to three servings of whole soy products a day. Whole soy products can be incorporated into a healthy diet and should be incorporated into a healthy diet as a plant-based protein source.

RELATED:Major Reduction in Cancer Risk by Following Old Standbys Diet and Exercise

As soon as the Lets Beat Breast Cancer Campaign launched and Jon Stewart and several other celebrity names stepped up to support it, pro-vegan groups, including the vegan news site, Veg News, stepped up to champion the campaign. Vegans of course, exclusively eat plant-based foods and tend to steer clear of meat and animal products altogether.

RELATED: Meat is Not the Enemy

But cutting out from your diet entirely, its worth noting, isnt necessary to reduce your risk of breast cancer (or really any cancer). According to Maruschak, lean meats such as turkey and fish as well as animal products like eggs are actually part of that good-for-you anti-inflammatory diet she mentioned.

RELATED: Even Moderate Amounts of Red Meat Can Sharply Increase Risk Of Colorectal Cancer, New Study Finds

The problem with meat lies in the way its processed or cooked. The evidence is clear that too much charred meat, red meat, or processed meat such as sausages and hot dogs can up your cancer risk (even as headlines this past week said otherwise).

RELATED:The Evidence Says Red and Processed Meat Carries a Cancer Risk Even As TV Host Piers Morgan Endorses Bacon is Safe Headlines

Dr. Stephen Freedland,the Director of the Center for Integrated Research in Cancer at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center,told SurvivorNetthat while meat itself isnt the enemy, the way that we process and cook our meats can cause cancer. TheWorld Health Organization, its worth noting, classifies processed meat as a carcinogen (meaning cancer-causing) to humans.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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Committed Vegan Jon Stewart Believes More Women Should Eat a Plant-Based Diet To Prevent Breast Cancer What Are The Facts? - SurvivorNet