By Sukant Deepak

New Delhi, Jul 3 (IANS): He feels that the process of partition is ongoing and in a constant, dynamic state. While the original two-part Pakistan partitioned into Pakistan and Bangladesh, the Khalistan movement was and is an attempt to partition India yet again along religious lines.

"Much of Dravidian politics in South India fantasizes about a severance. Partition is not a thing of the past. It may well be a feature of India's future, de-facto if not de jure," says US author Amit Majmudar, whose latest novel 'The Map and the Scissors' (HarperCollins India) recently hit the stands.

The novel by Majmudar, a poet and diagnostic radiologist specialising in nuclear medicine, is about the epic origin story of modern South Asia, brought to life by two London-educated lawyers -- Gandhi and Jinnah, mirror-image rivals who dreamt the same dream of freedom-in catastrophically incompatible ways.

Majmudar named the first Poet Laureate of Ohio in 2015, who had written about the human fallout for ordinary people in his book 'Partitions' (2011), felt that he had not explored, in full detail, the political process that led up to the event and had shied away from portraying the main political players of the time.

While investigating the time period, he found an interview in which Lord Mountbatten, a quarter of a century later that spoke of how Jinnah had largely been forgotten even though he was the main reason the partition happened at all.

"This led me to research Jinnah, and in doing so, I realised that Gandhi, whom I already knew much more about, was a perfect foil for him. And so the dramatic structure of the book was conceived: The duel between these two figures."

Even as major publishing houses have brought out several titles on the partition in the past two years, he feels that the events of 1947 were definitional for the subcontinent -- both cartographically, and when it comes to identity.

With four poetry collections to his name and the same number of novels, Majmudar smiles that he is the same person when he writes prose and verse.

"However, I sequence words by emphasizing different principles when doing either. With verse, I emphasize patterning. With prose, storytelling or logical argument."

Despite contemporary times when people just need an excuse to get offended, Majmudar whose work 'Godsong', which is a translation of the Bhagavad Gita, says that he was not apprehensive while working on it.

"I do not create my art in prose or verse to offend anyone -- that is too trivial a motivation for writing a poem or a novel. Neither do I insult people or groups even when I tweet, and insults are 95 per cent of what Twitter is. None of my work is polemical."

A diagnostic nuclear radiologist and a writer -- with the former paying the bills and "freeing me up to write esoteric rhymes or translate Sanskrit if it pleases me," the pandemic allowed him to isolate himself and write extensively.

"One product of that is 'The Mahabharata Trilogy', a massive prose retelling of the epic, with a full-scale recreation of the Gita embedded in it, that is forthcoming in India in 2023. Keep an eye out for it -- it's my pandemic epic," he concludes.

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Partition is not a thing of the past: Author Amit Majmudar - Daijiworld.com

Disrespect is an unfortunate human trait and particularly when it is expressed towards the gods and faiths of fellow human beings. Recent months have seen a tumultuous rise in this phenomenon. Nupur Sharmas offensive response to Tasleem Rehmanis hurtful words about Lord Shiva on an Indian TV news channel was directed at the most revered Prophet of Islam. It was a competitive verbal diatribe: I am hurt, so I will hurt. It led to protests, violence and cases being registered across the spectrum.

Ancient Indian traditions of vada encourage mutual respect as an essential element of debate, while allowing for gentle and polite questioning: If we dont question, how do we grow or resolve or reform? This spirit of respectful probing also extended to the religions and gods of all people within Indic cultures. It is proving difficult in the debating square today. Why?

Nobel-prize-winning mathematician John Nashs game theory comes to mind. Remember the movie A Beautiful Mind, starring Russell Crowe? It was based on Nashs extraordinary life. Nash essentially laid out how rational decisions are made in strategic interactions. The key insight: People calculate the cost-benefit accruals of their decisions, but not in isolation. They also keep in mind the cost-benefit returns to others playing with them.

India is currently facing this knotty issue of competitive insults to religions. Or gods. Or prophets. Game theory will hold that if the gods/prophets/scriptures of one religion are treated with respect and those of another are treated with noxious disrespect, it will create a state of disequilibrium. Equilibrium the Nash Equilibrium in game theory will be re-established either if the gods/ prophets/scriptures of all religions are treated with equal respect, or if they are treated with equal disrespect.

This is not the prevalent situation in India. Indeed, it is not so in much of the free world. In the West, one can see the untrammelled disrespect of the radical woke Marxists (who sometimes self-identify as left-liberals) for Christianity. It offends me, and Im not Christian. At the same time, these radical woke Marxists treat with extreme respect religions that they either favour or fear wokeism and Islam. In India, the situation is similar: Radical woke Marxists routinely criticise Hinduism. Recently, lewd remarks were made on the sacred Shivling by journalists (from leftist and Twitter-based fact-checking websites) and politicians (mainly from West Bengal and Maharashtra). Such noxious comments have pained and offended innumerable Hindus. At the same time, these same people called for the head of Sharma for her noxious words on the Prophet of Islam.

The common theme is that the religion of the majority in the land Christianity in the West and Hinduism in India is attacked. It is easier to gain traction when hitting out against the dominant majority group from an appropriated position of self-victimisation. But this rule does not apply in Islamic majority nations/states (think Pakistan or Turkey) or woke majority nations/states (think California).

Going forward, this situation can move in two directions: Either the radical woke Marxists and radical Islamists treat all religions with equal disrespect/respect or believing Hindus in India and believing Christians in the West (and even developing countries like Nigeria) eventually begin using the same tactics against those who insult their revered figures, such as police cases in India under Section 153A. The world will then be staring at a spiralling cancel culture, destruction of careers, police complaints, court cases, and sometimes even violence. On all sides of the debate. Not just one side. Shockingly, the tragic blasphemy killings of Kamlesh Tiwari in Lucknow (2019) and Kishan Bharwad in Ahmedabad (2022) are freely used as examples by radical Islamists to spread fear, even as their radical woke Marxist Indian allies airbrush these from mainstream media. You, dear reader, may not even be aware of these two killings. And now we have Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur.

The Nash equilibrium will be achieved in one of these two directions. However, as a follower of Dharmic traditions, I am unhappy with both these equilibriums. Respectfully questioning human pursuits, including religions, must be enabled, indeed nurtured. But in doing the latter, why insult the gods, prophets or rishis? Why not practice civility and politeness?

There are some among all religious groups, including Muslims and woke Marxists, who present an alternative model. They protest if their religious/revered figures or scriptures/doctrines are disrespected. But their demand for respect is not a one-way street. Even Indias Permanent Representative to the United Nations, T S Tirumurti, has been making a case for treating phobias against all religions equally.

This model can bring peace and is certainly preferable to senseless and diabolical violence (and even situations akin to civil war). But even this alternative model is not ideal. For peace may prevail but modernity and a scientific temper would be difficult to build. The latter begs a rational, inquiring spirit.

All religions can be treated with respect and also questioned and reformed with gentle nudges, as propounded by Richard Thaler. Casteism in modern Hinduism can be quizzed using the sterling words of the Bhagavad Gita; misogyny in modern Islam can be questioned using the inspiring example of Lady Khadija, and child abuse in the Church can be interrogated using the true message of Jesus Christ. This is not impossible to achieve. Let us confidently push back against radical woke Marxism and radical Islam.

Let us take conscious charge of the movement towards a healthy equilibrium. Something our dharmic ancestors taught us.

Roy is a writer and has most recently co-authored Dharma with Amish

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There is only one solution to the problem of competitive insults to religions - The Indian Express

The fitness industry can be a challenge for anyone, whether it's gym-barrasment or not quite hitting a personal best, its easy to look negatively upon a workout from time to time. But experts have reassured that there is no such thing as a "bad workout".

Sweatband personal trainer Ruth Stone, explained: "Simply showing up and getting any safe workout done whatever the effort level, duration, or variety has incredible benefits for both personal fitness and mental wellness.

"From the perspective of mental health, completing a workout can alleviate stress, increase the brains sensitivity to serotonin and produce endorphins which are well established as positive mood enhancers."

She continued: "Physically speaking, completing your allotted training session will do wonders for long-term goals ranging from weight loss, muscle gain, bone health, and overall energy levels.

"There is no such thing as a bad workout just bad practices and bad perceptions."

Sweatband's fitness experts listed the unsung benefactors of exercise, no matter a person's experience level.

READ MORE:Diet: Expert warns against common mistake

Exercise of virtually any kind will do wonders for stress management and elimination.

The experts explained: "Endorphins are the brains "feel good" neurotransmitters and are boosted into overdrive during exercise helping to improve mood and turn your frown upside down after a heavy day at work.

"Aside from the endorphin high, you also benefit greatly from stress management specifically."

It does this by using physical exercise to imitate the bodys fight or flight response, helping the body perfect its unified response to external stress factors.

This leads to amazing benefits for the digestive, cardiovascular and immune system against adverse stress responses.

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The experts identified a "common theme" with the unseen benefits of exercise is the intrinsic value to mental faculties across the board, both long term and short term.

Numerous studies cite that regular exercise can even protect against adverse neurological conditions in later life, namely dementia.

This is due to exercise acting as a catalyst for brain cell growth and survival aerobic exercise in particular.

Even three moderate sessions of 20 minutes a week can do wonders for brain cell cultivation.

"From a less medical position, there is little better at improving mental resilience than adhering to a training schedule and pushing your limits," the experts added.

"The physical stress of exercise and the bodys mental response to handling this enables transferable resilience to be built up and applied to other aspects of our lives.

"Stressful day? You can get through it. A hard deadline fast approaching? Youve got this."

READ MORE:Fitness: How to 'increase fat burning' in a heatwave - expert advice

Exercise forces the body to work harder than usual, which in turn increases the demand on the heart to pump the oxygenated blood throughout our body at higher frequencies (an increased heart rate).

The experts said: "Our heart, after all, is a muscle like any other in our body, and with any muscle in the human body, the more you train it, the more efficient it becomes.

"Therefore, the fitter you become the lower your heart rate will become under exercise conditions, and the heart becomes sufficiently trained and primed for any future stressors."

They explained: "The cardiovascular benefits from just showing up and training are immense".

"From lowering blood pressure to improving blood flow and lowering cholesterol to improving your workout efficiency overall."

Ruth also encouraged people to "forget the negative nay-saying and focus on the fact that exercise of any kind will produce net benefits to you on levels beyond what you see listed on Instagram and TikTok".

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Fitness: Why theres no such thing as a bad workout - will do wonders - Express

With the cost of living increasing, new research has found that Britons are cutting down on health and fitness costs to make their money go further. Findings from a new study by supplement brand Nutrimuscle, stated that gym memberships have been the first to go as almost one in five people have cancelled them, with nearly half (49 percent) stating that it was "too expensive".

It comes after research of 2,013 adults found that Britons are expected to spend an average of 23.9billion annually on health and fitness and a further 6.3billion on supplements.

Thirty-six percent of people who took the survey agreed that health and fitness was a priority for them at the start of 2022, but at this halfway point in the year, a third are now unsure if it still is.

When asked if they have found the right balance of a healthy diet and exercise to achieve fitness goals, 30 percent stated that they hadnt, while just less than a fifth (18 percent) stated that they have found the right balance.

Richard Mortimer at Nutrimuscle, which commissioned the survey for its inaugural UK fitness report, said: "While the cost of living crisis is at the front and centre of peoples minds right now, its easy to forget that working out and staying healthy doesnt need to be expensive.

READ MORE:Diet: Expert warns against common mistake

With this in mind, clinical nutritionist Suzie Sawyer from Alive! shared some fitness tips that won't break the bank, allowing people to enjoy their exercise without added stress.

Sometimes overlooked as a form of exercise, walking briskly can help you build stamina, burn excess calories, and make your heart healthier.

"You do not have to walk for hours, a brisk 10-minute daily walk has lots of health benefits and counts towards your recommended 150 minutes of weekly exercise," Suzie said.

"Its also a great way to top up your vitamin D levels."

While exercise burns calories, Suzie warned the reality is "slightly more complex".

She continued: Metabolic syndrome is a term which includes risk factors for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.

"At its root is generally high blood sugar and insulin caused by being overweight.

"Research suggests that these markers can be mitigated by aerobic exercise such as running, brisk walking and cycling."

Walking or doing some other form of exercise 30 minutes after a meal regulates blood glucose, reducing the insulin spike and the likelihood of fat storage.

Suzie added: "Exercise, even at low intensity is great for your metabolic health. Like walking, running is another way to get fit on the cheap."

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Fitness: 'Alternative solutions' to keep fit without breaking the bank - 'key motivator' - Express

Tuesday, 5 July 2022, 17:56

Spain is one of the countries in the world with the longest life expectancy. And the trend continues: according to data from the INE (National Statistics Institute), life expectancy in the elderly has increased over the last few decades. The INE's projection is that in 2035 life expectancy will reach 90 years for women, and 85 years for men.

And why should we take care of our habits? The main reason is health, in all its aspects, to feel good physically, but also emotionally and mentally. A healthy lifestyle reduces the chances of suffering from many ailments and illnesses. Undoubtedly, if we improve our wellbeing, we will be much closer to our best version of ourselves, to our happiness and, therefore, to sharing it with the people around us. There are many benefits!

Aspects of enjoying a healthy lifestyle

1.The first key is nutrition. And in Andalusia we have the privilege of enjoying the Mediterranean diet. The aim should be to eat quality food to cover our vital needs, avoiding those that may be harmful to our organism.

2.Physical exercise is another of the fundamental keys. With just 30 minutes per day of physical activity we can reduce the risk of suffering cardiovascular problems, according to the Spanish Heart Foundation. As well as burning calories, strengthening muscles, keeping blood pressure under control and cholesterol levels in check, it reduces stress levels, improves our mood and helps us sleep better.

3.And so we come to one of the most overlooked but equally important and fundamental keys: rest.

To improve your rest is to improve your quality of life

We spend a third of our lives sleeping. While clichd, its still true, so we must ask ourselves: do we give our rest the importance it deserves? We must bear in mind that physical and mental rest is essential for us to really feel well.

Getting regular sleep for 6 to 8 hours a day, even up to 10 hours depending on our age, allows our body to recover, which is why the Mattressologists at leading sleep chain MiColchn recommend enjoying a "restorative" rest. A quality rest has many benefits for our body, as highlighted by the experts and the conclusions of the first study on Health and Rest developed by ASOCAMA (Spanish Bed Association) and the Foundation for Health Education (FUNDADEPS).

Healthy rest allows us to restore our nervous system and our physical and psychological functions, that's why MiColchn stresses the importance of rest, not only for our health, but also for our daily performance or our mood, and furthermore, according to the Mlaga firm's Mattressologists, "rest is the best beauty treatment there is"

Mattressologists tips to enjoy quality sleep

The MiColchn group, with 9 centres across the province of Mlaga, has more than 40 years of experience advising on the most suitable rest for each individual. Moreover, their staff have specific training, not only on the latest advances in materials and products, but also with courses given by renowned physiotherapists such as Romualdo Castillo. The main objective at MiColchn is to achieve the most comfortable and restorative rest:

1.Trust specialists to choose the mattress that best suits your lifestyle, build, age, sleeping posture and, above all, a mattress suitable for any back problems. At MiColchn, thanks to the mattress company Nessen, you will find an ideal mattress for every diagnosed ailment: spondylitis, scoliosis, fibromyalgia, low back pain, osteoporosis. There is a suitable mattress in terms of firmness and ideal support to alleviate our rest.

2.Take care of your bedding. Both your mattress and your pillow should be fitted with good quality protectors and covers that absorb moisture and regulate the temperature. Your MiColchn mattressologists will be able to advise you according to your needs, for example if you feel particularly hot or if you suffer from allergies.

3.Look after your nutrition with a balanced diet.

4.Exercise regularly.

5.Keep your bedroom dark and at a stable and comfortable temperature, not too hot or cold.

6.Before going to sleep:

a.Have a set, regular bedtime and wake-up time. Keeping a routine helps us to relax quicker.

b.Avoid heavy dinners, drinking coffee in the evening, and alcoholic beverages. Avoid activities that can cause stress or excessive stimulation.

7.And finally, if you often have difficulty getting to sleep and youve followed all this advice, be sure to talk to your doctor. Enjoying good quality rest is a need, not a luxury!

Would you like to see more tips and advice on how to improve your rest and your quality of life? See https://www.micolchon.com/blog/ or visit your MiColchn stores: in Mlaga, Benalmdena, Fuengirola, Marbella, Vlez Mlaga and Torre del Mar, and opening in Motril in July!!!

Sleep hotline: 951 555 155. Info@micolchon.com

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Healthy lifestyle: nutrition, exercise and... rest! - Surinenglish.com

The key to a long, happy retirement is not just having a flush portfolio or moving to a low-tax state with 300-plus days of sunshine. Its having the good health to enjoy your golden years.

And thats more than clich. Edward Jones surveyed 11,000 adults and found that 69% wanted to live to age 100. However, some didnt want such longevity if they were in terrible health (32%), if they became a burden on their families (29%), if they had serious cognitive loss (20%), and if they no longer had purpose in life (14%).

Many people assume that their chances of a long, healthy life is largely out of their hands, controlled by the genes they inherited. Its not that simple.

While scientists previously believed that genetics accounted for roughly 25% of lifespan, new research has put that number under 10%. Genetics still matters. Whether or not you dodge a particular affliction may be determined by your genes. And for extremely long-lived peoplethose who live beyond perhaps age 105genes are still thought to pay a huge role.

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Barrons brings retirement planning and advice to you in a weekly wrap-up of our articles about preparing for life after work.

For most of us, however, whether we get 75 or 85 or 95 healthy years is affected more by lifestyle choices than by genes. Getting regular exercise and enough sleep, eating nutritious, healthy foods, staying resilient and connected with other humansthese are the habits that produce continuing good health, long lifespans and enjoyable, productive retirements. They will also lower your healthcare costs and reduce your odds of developing dementiatwo of the biggest worries for retirees.

Genetics are the gun and lifestyle pulls the trigger, says Dr. David Fein, medical director of the Princeton Longevity Center in New Jersey.

Barrons recently talked to longevity experts, geriatric doctors, and read the latest research to come up with some concrete steps for improving your odds of a long, healthy life. Some of it is age-old advice. But research has also upended some of the conventional wisdom in recent years. For example, doctors used to think that moderate alcohol consumption was good for you; new research shows otherwise.

Here are six things you can do to improve your chances for having the good health to enjoy your retirement.

Exercise isnt a particularly efficient way of losing weight. But it is great at just about everything else when it comes to improving your health.

Want to lower your blood pressure or your blood sugar levels? Want to sleep better? Want to improve your brain function and memory? Want to lift your spirits? All these things are important for our health, and over recent years, theres been much research showing how exercise helps in all.

Exercise doesnt necessarily mean going to the gym. Brisk daily walks around the neighborhood will give you similar benefits. Nor does exercise all have to be done in one continuous session. Little five- or 10-minute bursts of activity throughout the day could be even better for you than a single session.

Its very hard to make up for 47 hours of being sedentary with one hour of intensive exercise, says Dr. Fein. Chairs kill more people than anything else.

Especially as you get older, be sure to include resistance training or other weight-bearing exercises to strengthen your bones and retain muscle mass. Biking or swimming are great for your cardiovascular system but they wont protect you from osteoporosis. If youre not lifting weights, try a few minutes of jumping ropes to build stronger bones.

Can there be too much of a good thing when it comes to exercise? Some research has found that extreme exercise actually hurts your health. An in-depth study in 2018 found otherwise. It studied 122,000 patients and measured their fitness not on how much they said they exercised, but how they performed on a treadmill test. It found the extremely fit had the lowest mortality levels.

But the debate over how much exercise is too much is beside the point. The big difference in health isnt between those in good shape and those in extremely good shape. Its between those who exercise and those who dont.

All sorts of good things happen as you sleep. Cells renew themselves. Your body produces hormones, which helps restore the body and reset many of its functions. Not getting enough sleep hurts your immune function. Scientists have found that people who dont sleep enough are more likely to eventually develop dementia.

How much sleep is enough sleep? The rough rule is between six to eight hours a night for adults. But different people may have different patterns and still get enough sleep. Some people may wake up in the middle of the night, be up for an hour or two, and go back to sleep for a few more hours. Others may take a nap in the middle of the day.

What is the best pattern for you? We dont know, says Daniel Belsky, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health, who says there hasnt been much high-quality research on the subject. What pattern is optimal for a person may depend on the life they lead.

Dr. Belsky says there has been good research on shift workers who work at night while others are sleeping, and they pay a health priceparticularly if their sleep times keep changing.

Other Americans have trouble sleeping, no matter what time it is. If that applies to you, doctors advise you to improve your sleep hygiene. Go to bed at the same time each night. Make sure your bedroom is dark and at a comfortable temperature. And dont keep checking your smartphone throughout the night.

For years, many doctors advised their patients that moderate drinking, particularly red wine, was good for them. After all, research had shown that moderate drinkers lived longer than both heavy drinkers and nondrinkers.

But new research has changed the conventional wisdom on the subject.

It finds the reason moderate drinkers had better health wasnt the alcohol; it is believed to stem from favorable lifestyle, socioeconomic, and behavioral factors.

Drinking increases your risks for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain cancers. The risks appear minimal for light drinkers but increase with higher drinking levels.

Bottom line: Nobody should start drinking because they think its good for their health, says geriatrician Alicia Ines Arbaje, an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Alcohol is directly toxic to the body. There is no amount that is beneficial.

Obesity is tied to a multitude of illnesses, including higher rates of diabetes, heart disease and many cancers. Obese people have been hit harder by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But it doesnt necessarily follow that going on a strict diet to shave off some pounds is good for you. Losing weight isnt that hard. But keeping weight off is quite hard, and yo-yoing up and down doesnt do your body any good.

Whats more, all fat isnt created equal. The subcutaneous fat that sits on our hips may be unsightly, but it doesnt appear to have big effects on our health. The nasty stuff is the visceral fat that surrounds our organs. It changes the hormones produced by the body, and is linked to diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers and Alzheimers disease.

The only way of knowing for sure how much visceral fat you have is some sort of body scan, which is expensive and not recommended by most health experts for the general population.

People with bigger waists or apple-shaped bodies tend to have more visceral fat. But even there it gets tricky since different ethnic groups, notably people of Asian heritage, have a tendency to carry more visceral fat.

Morgan Levine is an assistant professor at the Yale School of Medicine who studies aging and wrote the book True Age. Instead of focusing on your weight, she says people should exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet. The good news is that exercise does reduce visceral fat.

Weight is such a bad proxy or measure for what is contributing to health, Dr. Levine says. Its so much more complex than how heavy you are.

Further complicating things, while weight loss may be desirable for the general population, it often isnt for seniors because it can cause loss of muscle and can contribute to osteoporosis. Geriatrician Deborah Kado, who has done extensive research on bone health and is co-director of the Stanford Longevity Center in California, doesnt usually advise her older patients to lose weight.

I tell them its insurance if you go into the hospital, she says. There is a lot of data that indicates that weight loss, whether intentional or unintentional, has been associated with adverse health outcomes rather than health benefits.

Nutrition is one of the trickier areas to research. Its hard to know exactly what research subjects actually eat. And it can take years for health effects to emerge. Nonetheless, scientists are seeing eating patterns that contribute to longevity.

A study found that even 60-year-olds could add an average eight or nine years to their lives by abandoning a Western diet. The biggest gains came from eating more legumes, whole grains and nuts, and eating less red meat and processed meat. Eating more fish was also a plus. The effects of eggs, poultry and oil were less clear. If it sounds a lot like the Mediterranean diet, it is. But its emphasis on vegetables, legumes and whole grains also bears similarities to how people eat in other parts of the world known for longevity.

Americans eat too much protein, says Yales Dr. Levine. She says protein contributes to overly high levels of the human growth hormone, which is linked to certain cancers and appears to increase aging.

But once again, the recommendation changes when it comes to seniors. Older people dont process protein as well, and need more of it in their diet to maintain muscle mass, research has found.

Live long enough, and bad things are likely to happen to you or the people around you. How you deal with them is key. People who have a positive mind-set on things they cant control tend to have much better outcomes, says Dr. Kado, the Stanford geriatrician. She says it is almost the most important factor in how her patients fare.

People are social creatures. And we tend to be more resilient when we have strong social connections. This can come through our family, our friends, our church, or even our retirement community. There has been research showing that maintaining social connections is good for brain health. So go for a walk with a friend and eat an apple afterward.

When it comes to longevity, these are all steps in the right direction. Saving for that longer life, and retirement, is another story.

Write to retirement@barrons.com

Continued here:
Here's How to Maximize Your Healthy Years in Retirement. Eat Right and Exercise. - Barron's

When trying to lose weight quickly, some people turn to fad diets that promise fast results using questionable methods.

These plans are typically very low in calories, restrict many healthy foods, and involve following strict rules, like eating only one food.

Even though any type of low calorie diet can result in rapid weight loss, there are major concerns with fad diets that promote the use of unnecessary and even dangerous rules.

The pineapple diet is a fad diet that people have used since the 1970s to shed excess body fat.

In this article, I explain what the pineapple diet is and why its not a safe way to lose weight.

The pineapple diet, also known as the Sexy Pineapple Diet, was created by a Danish psychologist named Sten Hegeler.

Hegeler and his wife, Inge, published the book The Sexy Pineapple Diet in 1970. The diet promised to help people slim down and improve other aspects of health, like sexual vitality.

The diet consists of eating nothing but pineapple for two days out of the week, then eating normally for five days.

According to some sources, the plan allows you to consume other foods during the 2 pineapple-only days, so long as the food provides fewer than 500 total calories (1).

Keep in mind that the full book is not available to view online, and theres not a lot of information available regarding foods to eat, rules, length of the diet, and other recommendations.

According to an interview with Hegeler, the diet wasnt based on any scientific evidence. The author simply liked pineapple, so he thought that creating a diet based on consuming large amounts of pineapple was a good idea (1).

Online sources claim that most people who follow this diet do so for 27 days, but some people follow the diet for several weeks until they reach their goal weight.

In addition to the original Sexy Pineapple Diet, there are other pineapple-based diets and cleanses promoted online that involve eating nothing but pineapple for 27 days.

The Sexy Pineapple Diet is a diet plan that recommends consuming nothing but pineapple for 2 days a week. Other versions of the pineapple diet exist, each with its own rules.

When following the Sexy Pineapple Diet, youll eat nothing but pineapple for two days per week. Its not clear whether the days have to be consecutive.

On the other five days, youll eat normally. Again, specific recommendations from the book are not available, so its not clear what type of diet Hegeler recommended on the five non-pineapple days.

According to some sources, youre allowed to eat other foods during the two pineapple days, but its not clear which foods are allowed.

Some sources shared that if youre allergic to pineapple, the book suggests eating fruits like apples, pears, or bananas instead.

Other pineapple-based plans online recommend consuming foods like oats, yogurt, and lean proteins, plus a lot of pineapple.

Some strict versions of the pineapple diet involve eating nothing but pineapple for 27 days. These diets do not allow any other foods besides pineapple.

As you can see, there are many types of pineapple-based diets and cleanses promoted online, each with their own rules and recommendations.

Depending on the type of pineapple diet, the plan may involve eating nothing but pineapple for 2 to 7 days or eating a lot of pineapple combined with other low calorie foods like oatmeal and lean protein sources.

The Sexy Pineapple Diet recommends eating nothing but pineapple for two days a week. However, some sources say that it allows for other low calorie foods as well, though its unclear which foods are recommended.

During the other five days of the week, a person following the Sexy Pineapple Diet follows their normal diet.

Other pineapple-based fad diets recommend eating nothing but pineapple for two to seven days.

This means that you cant consume any other foods besides pineapple.

If you decide to follow one of these super strict, pineapple-only plans, youll be eating pineapple for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Healthy whole foods like eggs, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish, and grains will be off-limits.

Depending on the type of pineapple diet you follow, you may only be allowed to eat pineapple for 27 days or to alternate days of only pineapple with days of normal eating.

Eating nothing but pineapple for two to seven days is absolutely unnecessary for weight loss.

Of course, limiting your calorie intake using any method, including unhealthy ones, will promote weight loss.

For example, if youre used to consuming 2,000 calories per day and then follow a 5-day plan that involves eating nothing but pineapple, youll be taking in significantly fewer calories, which will create a calorie deficit.

One cup (165 grams) of cubed pineapple provides just 82.5 calories. Lets say you consume 6 cups (990 grams) of pineapple per day 2 cups (330 grams) at each meal. This equates to only 495 calories, which is extremely low (2).

When youre eating normally, a single meal may contain 500 calories or more, depending on your energy needs.

Any diet that significantly cuts calories and creates an extreme calorie deficit will induce weight loss (3).

However, this doesnt mean that losing weight using such restrictive methods is safe or effective for long-term weight maintenance.

Also, if you follow a diet plan that significantly cuts calories, you will almost certainly gain back any weight you lose as soon as you return to your normal dietary pattern (4).

Journalists who tried the Sexy Pineapple Diet and documented the experience have lost between 02.2 pounds (1 kg) in a week.

However, you can achieve sustainable weight loss using methods that are actually based on scientific research and dont involve eating just one food for a prolonged period of time.

Lastly, theres no evidence that the Sexy Pineapple Diet or any other pineapple-based fad diet, for that matter is safe or effective for weight loss.

Heleger, the diets creator, even admitted that the diet is not based on any sound medical advice. He designed the plan simply because he enjoyed eating pineapple.

Any diet that significantly cuts calories will create a calorie deficit and promote weight loss. However, this isnt a safe or sustainable way to lose weight. Youll likely regain the weight once you return to normal eating habits.

Its unlikely that following the Sexy Pineapple Diet will result in any significant side effects if you follow it for a week. This is because the plan only restricts calories and foods on two days out of the week.

Studies show that diets that significantly restrict calories for 2 days per week, like the 5:2 method of intermittent fasting, can be safe (5).

But chances are youll be extremely hungry, irritable, and tired on a fad diet like this one. Journalists who tried the Sexy Pineapple Diet reported these feelings when they documented their experiences.

Because pineapple is so acidic, it might bother your stomach, especially if thats all youre eating for an entire day. You may feel nauseated or experience diarrhea.

If youre following a plan that involves eating nothing but pineapple for 5 days or longer, you could experience side effects like dizziness, passing out, headaches, hunger pains, insomnia, weakness, and extreme hunger (6).

Because pineapple contains less than one gram of protein and fat per cup (165 grams) and lacks many vitamins and minerals, like vitamin B-12 and vitamin E, your body wont be getting the nutrients it needs to function optimally (2).

Plus, many people consider protein to be the most filling macronutrient, so when youre not eating adequate amounts of protein, you wont feel full (7).

Because pineapple is lacking in many important nutrients, following a plan that involves eating nothing but pineapple for longer than a few days can also put you at risk for developing a nutrient deficiency.

Also, its never a good idea to engage in such restrictive eating habits. It could lead to long-term complications involving your relationship with your body and food, including eating disorders.

For example, you may be afraid to resume normal eating habits after finishing a restrictive diet like the Sexy Pineapple Diet because you fear regaining the weight you lost.

Pineapple-based weight loss plans can result in side effects like extreme hunger, nausea, headaches, and other unpleasant side effects. Following a pineapple-only diet long-term can be dangerous and put you at risk of developing nutrient deficiencies.

You do not need to follow any restrictive diet to lose weight. Its not a good idea to follow any diet or cleanse that recommends drastically cutting calories, only eating one food, or cutting out entire food groups.

Even though you may be tempted to try a diet that promises rapid weight loss, you can lose body fat by following safe, evidence-based plans that involve making long-term dietary and lifestyle changes that leave you feeling deprived.

If you want to lose weight, its best to create a small calorie deficit by cutting out or reducing your intake of sugary beverages, ultra-processed foods like fast food, and fried foods.

At the same time, make an effort to eat more nutrient-dense foods, like vegetables and fruits.

Adding more protein and fiber into your diet is also a helpful way to induce weight loss and maintain a healthy body weight, as foods rich in these nutrients help you feel full and keep you satisfied between meals (8, 9, 10).

Additionally, becoming more active by engaging in regular physical activity can be helpful for promoting weight loss and can also improve other aspects of health, like cardiorespiratory fitness (11).

Weight loss isnt always easy and can take time. If youre unsure of where to start on your weight loss journey, consider working with a registered dietitian.

They can help you create a dietary pattern that works best for your needs and that you can follow for life.

You do not need to follow any restrictive diet to lose weight. Its not a good idea to follow any diet or cleanse that recommends drastically cutting calories, only eating one food, or cutting out entire food groups.

Like other fad diets, pineapple-based weight loss plans including the Sexy Pineapple Diet are not healthy ways to lose weight.

They involve significantly restricting calories and eating only pineapple for 27 days.

Not only are these methods unnecessary for weight loss, but they can result in unpleasant and even dangerous side effects.

When youre trying to lose weight, its best to avoid pineapple-based weight loss diets and other restrictive fad diets and instead focus on making healthy dietary and lifestyle modifications that can help promote weight loss in a safe way.

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What Is the Pineapple Diet, and Should You Try It? - Healthline

MEDFORD, Mass. More than nine in 10 American adults may want to think about skipping the summertime barbecues. A new study finds that less than seven percent of the nations adult population have what health experts consider good cardiometabolic health.

Researchers from Tufts University say this measure includes five key components of health: blood pressure, blood sugar, blood cholesterol, adiposity (being either overweight or obese), and the presence or absence of cardiovascular disease.

Using information on roughly 55,000 people over the age of 20, the results show just 6.8 percent of American adults reached optimal levels of health in all five categories in 2018. Moreover, the study found American health has been in steep decline over the last 20 years.

In 1999, one in three adults had healthy levels for adiposity, meaning they had a healthy weight and were not overweight or obese. By 2018, that number fell to just one in four Americans.

At the same time, three in five people were free of diabetes and prediabetes in 1999. By 2018, however, more than six in 10 adults had one of these conditions!

These numbers are striking. Its deeply problematic that in the United States, one of the wealthiest nations in the world, fewer than 1 in 15 adults have optimal cardiometabolic health, says Meghan OHearn, a doctoral candidate at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science, in a media release. We need a complete overhaul of our healthcare system, food system, and built environment, because this is a crisis for everyone, not just one segment of the population.

Instead of just looking for signs of disease, the team focused their study on the signs of good, moderate, and poor cardiometabolic health.

Disease is not the only problem, OHearn explains. We dont just want to be free of disease. We want to achieve optimal health and well-being.

Researchers also found large health gaps between U.S. adults of different genders, ages, ethnic backgrounds, and education levels. Specifically, the study found Americans with less education were half as likely to be in peak cardiometabolic health.

While there was a slight increase in the number of non-Hispanic White Americans reaching good cardiometabolic health between 1999 and 2018, study authors say those measures dropped off for Mexican Americans, other Hispanics, non-Hispanic Blacks, and adults of other races.

This is really problematic. Social determinants of health such as food and nutrition security, social and community context, economic stability, and structural racism put individuals of different education levels, races, and ethnicities at an increased risk of health issues, says senior author Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School.

Its important to note that this study used data coming from a period before the coronavirus pandemic a time where physical activity fell off significantly. Previous studies have shown that sedentary lifestyles during the pandemic have contributed to even further declines in health and fitness since 2020.

Not everyone in the study has passed the point of no return when it comes to their health. Researchers say many fall into the category of intermediate levels of health, meaning their cardiometabolic health is not optimal, but not yet poor. These individuals may be dealing with certain conditions including prediabetes, pre-hypertension, or they may be slightly overweight.

A large portion of the population is at a critical inflection point, OHearn adds. Identifying these individuals and addressing their health conditions and lifestyle early is critical to reducing growing healthcare burdens and health inequities.

Its impacts on national healthcare spending and the financial health of the entire economy are enormous, OHearn concludes. And these conditions are largely preventable. We have the public health and clinical interventions and policies to be able to address these problems.

The study is set for publication in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

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Fitness crisis? Just 7% of U.S. adults have good cardiometabolic health - Study Finds

Weight gain is a common problem that can happen as we age and after 40 losing stubborn belly fat does become more challenging, but not impossible. With the right mindset and healthy lifestyle choices, getting rid of excess weight around the waist can happen and Eat This, Not That! Health spoke with Megan Mescher-Cox, DO, Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Lifestyle Medicine and Obesity Medicine of Dignity Health Group who explained how to burn off belly fat after 40. Read onand to ensure your health and the health of others, don't miss these Sure Signs You've Already Had COVID.

Cox explains, "It's harder to lose belly fat as we age for many reasons. Physiologically, our basal metabolic rate decreases but also because our daily habits are dramatically different as we age. The average child needs to play and move for hours daily, whereas the average adult spends most of the day in a more sedentary role with exercise as a built-in activity for 30-60 minutes daily. Our skeletal mass also decreases as we age, especially over 30-40 years old and this decreased skeletal mass is a large contributor to our metabolic rate."

"Intake of vegetables and fruits is associated with lower weights and less chronic disease," says Cox. "This includes diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol but also associated with less dementia and certain cancers. Vegetables and fruits are high in antioxidants which counter the oxidative stress that leads to aging."

According to Cox, "Sleep is critical for weight management and normalization of hormones in the body. This is when your body repairs from the day and when the body performs 'housekeeping' activities. Aim for 8 hours nightly. We can't "make up" for lack of sleep so it's especially important to get your body regular sleep all throughout your life."6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Cox reminds us, "Exercise is a great way to keep people feeling young but also for your body to physiologically function better. Aim for at least 30 minutes at least five days a week although an hour five times weekly is even better. If someone is having a difficult time with the presence of abdominal fat even with regular exercise, increasing the intensity of the activity will help with the stubborn pounds."

Cox states, "Independent of exercise, sitting all day is an independent risk factor for a shortened life span. Aim to get up for at least 5 minutes an hour or consider an under-desk bicycle to keep blood moving."

"Things that are ideal for your health are the typical: a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in junk food, regular exercise, regular sleep, not too much stress, and good healthy relationships," Cox emphasizes. "Aim for true lifestyle change, not a diet or exercise kick."

Heather Newgen

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Speed Up Belly Fat Loss in After 40 With These Proven Tips Eat This Not That - Eat This, Not That

The internet is rife with advice for keeping the brain sharp as we age, and much of it is focused on the foods we eat. Headlines promise that oatmeal will fight off dementia. Blueberries improve memory. Coffee can slash your risk of Alzheimers disease. Take fish oil. Eat more fiber. Drink red wine. Forgo alcohol. Snack on nuts. Dont skip breakfast. But definitely dont eat bacon.

One recent diet study got media attention, with one headline claiming, Many people may be eating their way to dementia. The study, published last December in Neurology, found that people who ate a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods like fruits, vegetables, beans and tea or coffee had a lower risk of dementia than those who ate foods that boost inflammation, such as sugar, processed foods, unhealthy fats and red meat.

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But the study, like most research on diet and dementia, couldnt prove a causal link. And thats not good enough to make recommendations that people should follow. Why has it proved such a challenge to pin down whether the foods we eat can help stave off dementia?

First, dementia, like most chronic diseases, is the result of a complex interplay of genes, lifestyle and environment that researchers dont fully understand. Diet is just one factor. Second, nutrition research is messy. People struggle to recall the foods theyve eaten, their diets change over time, and modifying what people eat even as part of a research study is exceptionally difficult.

For decades, researchers devoted little effort to trying to prevent or delay Alzheimers disease and other types of dementia because they thought there was no way to change the trajectory of these diseases. Dementia seemed to be the result of aging and an unlucky roll of the genetic dice.

While scientists have identified genetic variants that boost risk for dementia, researchers now know that people can cut their risk by adopting a healthier lifestyle: avoiding smoking, keeping weight and blood sugar in check, exercising, managing blood pressure and avoiding too much alcohol the same healthy behaviors that lower the risk of many chronic diseases.

Diet is wrapped up in several of those healthy behaviors, and many studies suggest that diet may also directly play a role. But what makes for a brain-healthy diet? Thats where the research gets muddled.

Despite loads of studies aimed at dissecting the influence of nutrition on dementia, researchers cant say much with certainty. I dont think theres any question that diet influences dementia risk or a variety of other age-related diseases, says Matt Kaeberlein, who studies aging at the University of Washington in Seattle. But are there specific components of diet or specific nutritional strategies that are causal in that connection? He doubts it will be that simple.

In the United States, an estimated 6.5 million people, the vast majority of whom are over age 65, are living with Alzheimers disease and related dementias. Experts expect that by 2060, as the senior population grows, nearly 14 million residents over age 65 will have Alzheimers disease. Despite decades of research and more than 100 drug trials, scientists have yet to find a treatment for dementia that does more than curb symptoms temporarily (SN: 7/3/21 & 7/17/21, p. 8). Really what we need to do is try and prevent it, says Maria Fiatarone Singh, a geriatrician at the University of Sydney.

Forty percent of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by modifying a dozen risk factors, according to a 2020 report commissioned by the Lancet. The report doesnt explicitly call out diet, but some researchers think it plays an important role. After years of fixating on specific foods and dietary components things like fish oil and vitamin E supplements many researchers in the field have started looking at dietary patterns.

That shift makes sense. We do not have vitamin E for breakfast, vitamin C for lunch. We eat foods in combination, says Nikolaos Scarmeas, a neurologist at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Columbia University. He led the study on dementia and anti-inflammatory diets published in Neurology. But a shift from supplements to a whole diet of myriad foods complicates the research. A once-daily pill is easier to swallow than a new, healthier way of eating.

Suspecting that inflammation plays a role in dementia, many researchers posit that an anti-inflammatory diet might benefit the brain. In Scarmeas study, more than 1,000 older adults in Greece completed a food frequency questionnaire and earned a score based on how inflammatory their diet was. The lower the score, the better. For example, fatty fish, which is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, was considered an anti-inflammatory food and earned negative points. Cheese and many other dairy products, high in saturated fat, earned positive points.

During the next three years, 62 people, or 6 percent of the study participants, developed dementia. People with the highest dietary inflammation scores were three times as likely to develop dementia as those with the lowest. Scores ranged from 5.83 to 6.01. Each point increase was linked to a 21 percent rise in dementia risk.

Such epidemiological studies make connections, but they cant prove cause and effect. Perhaps people who eat the most anti-inflammatory diets also are those least likely to develop dementia for some other reason. Maybe they have more social interactions. Or it could be, Scarmeas says, that people who eat more inflammatory diets do so because theyre already experiencing changes in their brain that lead them to consume these foods and what we really see is the reverse causality.

To sort all this out, researchers rely on randomized controlled trials, the gold standard for providing proof of a causal effect. But in the arena of diet and dementia, these studies have challenges.

Dementia is a disease of aging that takes decades to play out, Kaeberlein says. To show that a particular diet could reduce the risk of dementia, it would take two-, three-, four-decade studies, which just arent feasible. Many clinical trials last less than two years.

As a work-around, researchers often rely on some intermediate outcome, like changes in cognition. But even that can be hard to observe. If youre already relatively healthy and dont have many risks, you might not show much difference, especially if the duration of the study is relatively short, says Sue Radd-Vagenas, a nutrition scientist at the University of Sydney. The thinking is if youre older and you have more risk factors, its more likely we might see something in a short period of time. Yet older adults might already have some cognitive decline, so it might be more difficult to see an effect.

Many researchers now suspect that intervening earlier will have a bigger impact. We now know that the brain is stressed from midlife and theres a tipping point at 65 when things go sour, says Hussein Yassine, an Alzheimers researcher at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. But intervene too early, and a trial might not show any effect. Offering a healthier diet to a 50- or 60-year-old might pay off in the long run but fail to make a difference in cognition that can be measured during the relatively short length of a study.

And its not only the timing of the intervention that matters, but also the duration. Do you have to eat a particular diet for two decades for it to have an impact? Weve got a problem of timescale, says Kaarin Anstey, a dementia researcher at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

And then there are all the complexities that come with studying diet. You cant isolate it in the way you can isolate some of the other factors, Anstey says. Its something that youre exposed to all the time and over decades.

In a clinical trial, researchers often test the effectiveness of a drug by offering half the study participants the medication and half a placebo pill. But when the treatment being tested is food, studies become much more difficult to control. First, food doesnt come in a pill, so its tricky to hide whether participants are in the intervention group or the control group.

Imagine a trial designed to test whether the Mediterranean diet can help slow cognitive decline. The participants arent told which group theyre in, but the control group sees that they arent getting nuts or fish or olive oil. What ends up happening is a lot of participants will start actively increasing the consumption of the Mediterranean diet despite being on the control arm, because thats why they signed up, Yassine says. So at the end of the trial, the two groups are not very dissimilar.

Second, we all need food to live, so a true placebo is out of the question. But what diet should the control group consume? Do you compare the diet intervention to peoples typical diets (which may differ from person to person and country to country)? Do you ask the comparison group to eat a healthy diet but avoid the food expected to provide brain benefits? (Offering them an unhealthy diet would be unethical.)

And tracking what people eat during a clinical trial can be a challenge. Many of these studies rely on food frequency questionnaires to tally up all the foods in an individuals diet. An ongoing study is assessing the impact of the MIND diet (which combines part of the Mediterranean diet with elements of the low-salt DASH diet) on cognitive decline. Researchers track adherence to the diet by asking participants to fill out a food frequency questionnaire every six to 12 months. But many of us struggle to remember what we ate a day or two ago. So some researchers also rely on more objective measures to assess compliance. For the MIND diet assessment, researchers are also tracking biomarkers in the blood and urine vitamins such as folate, B12 and vitamin E, plus levels of certain antioxidants.

Another difficulty is that these surveys often dont account for variables that could be really important, like how the food was prepared and where it came from. Was the fish grilled? Fried? Slathered in butter? Those things can matter, says dementia researcher Nathaniel Chin of the University of WisconsinMadison.

Plus there are the things researchers cant control. For example, how does the food interact with an individuals medications and microbiome? We know all of those factors have an interplay, Chin says.

The few clinical trials looking at dementia and diet seem to measure different things, so its hard to make comparisons. In 2018, Radd-Vagenas and her colleagues looked at all the trials that had studied the impact of the Mediterranean diet on cognition. There were five at the time. What struck me even then was how variable the interventions were, she says. Some of the studies didnt even mention olive oil in their intervention. Now, how can you run a Mediterranean diet study and not mention olive oil?

Another tricky aspect is recruitment. The kind of people who sign up for clinical trials tend to be more educated, more motivated and have healthier lifestyles. That can make differences between the intervention group and the control group difficult to spot. And if the study shows an effect, whether it will apply to the broader, more diverse population comes into question. To sum up, these studies are difficult to design, difficult to conduct and often difficult to interpret.

Kaeberlein studies aging, not dementia specifically, but he follows the research closely and acknowledges that the lack of clear answers can be frustrating. I get the feeling of wanting to throw up your hands, he says. But he points out that there may not be a single answer. Many diets can help people maintain a healthy weight and avoid diabetes, and thus reduce the risk of dementia. Beyond that obvious fact, he says, its hard to get definitive answers.

In July 2021, Yassine gathered with more than 30 other dementia and nutrition experts for a virtual symposium to discuss the myriad challenges and map out a path forward. The speakers noted several changes that might improve the research.

One idea is to focus on populations at high risk. For example, one clinical trial is looking at the impact of low- and high-fat diets on short-term changes in the brain in people who carry the genetic variant APOE4, a risk factor for Alzheimers. One small study suggested that a high-fat Western diet actually improved cognition in some individuals. Researchers hope to get clarity on that surprising result.

I get the feeling of wanting to throw up your hands.

Another possible fix is redefining how researchers measure success. Hypertension and diabetes are both well-known risk factors for dementia. So rather than running a clinical trial that looks at whether a particular diet can affect dementia, researchers could look at the impact of diet on one of these risk factors. Plenty of studies have assessed the impact of diet on hypertension and diabetes, but Yassine knows of none launched with dementia prevention as the ultimate goal.

Yassine envisions a study that recruits participants at risk of developing dementia because of genetics or cardiovascular disease and then looks at intermediate outcomes. For example, a high-salt diet can be associated with hypertension, and hypertension can be associated with dementia, he says. If the study shows that the diet lowers hypertension, we achieved our aim. Then the study could enter a legacy period during which researchers track these individuals for another decade to determine whether the intervention influences cognition and dementia.

One way to amplify the signal in a clinical trial is to combine diet with other interventions likely to reduce the risk of dementia. The Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability, or FINGER, trial, which began in 2009, did just that. Researchers enrolled more than 1,200 individuals ages 60 to 77 who were at an elevated risk of developing dementia and had average or slightly impaired performance on cognition tests. Half received nutritional guidance, worked out at a gym, engaged in online brain-training games and had routine visits with a nurse to talk about managing dementia risk factors like high blood pressure and diabetes. The other half received only general health advice.

After two years, the control group had a 25 percent greater cognitive decline than the intervention group. It was the first trial, reported in the Lancet in 2015, to show that targeting multiple risk factors could slow the pace of cognitive decline.

Now researchers are testing this approach in more than 30 countries. Christy Tangney, a nutrition researcher at Rush University in Chicago, is one of the investigators on the U.S. arm of the study, enrolling 2,000 people ages 60 to 79 who have at least one dementia risk factor. The study is called POINTER, or U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk. The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the research organizers had to pause the trial briefly but Tangney expects to have results in the next few years.

This kind of multi-intervention study makes sense, Chin says. One of the reasons why things are so slow in our field is were trying to address a heterogeneous disease with one intervention at a time. And thats just not going to work. A trial that tests multiple interventions allows for people to not be perfect, he adds. Maybe they cant follow the diet exactly, but they can stick to the workout program, which might have an effect on its own. The drawback in these kinds of studies, however, is that its impossible to tease out the contribution of each individual intervention.

Two major reports came out in recent years addressing dementia prevention. The first, from the World Health Organization in 2019, recommends a healthy, balanced diet for all adults, and notes that the Mediterranean diet may help people who have normal to mildly impaired cognition.

The 2020 Lancet Commission report, however, does not include diet in its list of modifiable risk factors, at least not yet. Nutrition and dietary components are challenging to research with controversies still raging around the role of many micronutrients and health outcomes in dementia, the report notes. The authors point out that a Mediterranean or the similar Scandinavian diet might help prevent cognitive decline in people with intact cognition, but how long the exposure has to be or during which ages is unclear. Neither report recommends any supplements.

Plenty of people are waiting for some kind of advice to follow. Improving how these studies are done might enable scientists to finally sort out what kinds of diets can help hold back the heartbreaking damage that comes with Alzheimers disease. For some people, that knowledge might be enough to create change.

One of the reasons why things are so slow in our field is were trying to address a heterogeneous disease with one intervention at a time. And thats just not going to work.

Inevitably, if youve had Alzheimers in your family, you want to know, What can I do today to potentially reduce my risk? says molecular biologist Heather Snyder, vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimers Association.

But changing long-term dietary habits can be hard. The foods we eat arent just fuel; our diets represent culture and comfort and more. Food means so much to us, Chin says.

Even if you found the perfect diet, he adds, how do you get people to agree to and actually change their habits to follow that diet? The MIND diet, for example, suggests people eat less than one serving of cheese a week. In Wisconsin, where Chin is based, thats a nonstarter, he says.

But its not just about changing individual behaviors. Radd-Vagenas and other researchers hope that if they can show the brain benefits of some of these diets in rigorous studies, policy changes might follow. For example, research shows that lifestyle changes can have a big impact on type 2 diabetes. As a result, many insurance providers now pay for coaching programs that help participants maintain healthy diet and exercise habits.

You need to establish policies. You need to change cities, change urban design. You need to do a lot of things to enable healthier choices to become easier choices, Radd-Vagenas says. But that takes meatier data than exist now.

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