Plant-based Cheese Sausages

The new vegan sausages are crafted from pea protein.

 

 

 

 

“There’s No Reason to Cut Out Important Nutrients”: An Expert Weighs in On Slow-Carb Diets

CHARLOTTE POINTING wrote . . . . . . . . .

Introduced for the first time back in 2010 by author and lifestyle guru Tim Ferriss, the slow-carb diet is witnessing a resurgence. Right now, on TikTok, videos related to the term “slow carb diet transformation” have more than 28 million views, with many users claiming that the diet helped them to lose significant amounts of weight in a short amount of time. But is the slow-carb diet really that healthy? We spoke to Stephanie Wells, MS, RD, ACSM-CPT of Thyme to Go Vegan Nutrition Services to find out more.

What is the slow-carb diet?

In his book The 4-Hour Body, Ferriss lays out a method that he believes can help with fat loss, blood sugar stabilization, and energy. The diet in question prioritizes the consumption of lean protein, healthy fats, and, of course, “slow carbs.”

“‘Slow carbs’ isn’t a true scientific term, but it’s usually used to describe whole, unprocessed sources of carbohydrates rich in dietary fiber,” Wells explains. So these are foods like beans, legumes, and whole grains. Refined carbohydrates (or “fast carbs”) are not permitted on the slow-carb diet. Think, white bread, crackers, and white rice, for example.

As well as whole carbohydrates, the diet is particularly high in animal protein. It recommends that people choose foods like chicken, beef, eggs, pork, fish, and whey powder to hit their protein intake for the day. The slow-carb diet also allows for a small group of vegetables, including spinach, asparagus, peas, and green beans, as well as fats, like nuts and olive oil, and herbs and spices. Dairy and drinks other than calorie-free or low-calorie options, like water and black coffee, are not advised.

The theory behind this approach is that limiting food choices to only a handful of options will help people stick to the diet for six days out of the week. The seventh day is a “go nuts day,” as Wells calls it. “You’re encouraged to eat all foods in any quantity, regardless of how healthy they are,” she explains. “It’s basically, a cheat day.”

Is the slow-carb diet healthy?

The vast majority of people who follow the slow-carb diet do so to lose weight, and in the short term, it’ll likely work for most people, says Wells. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s healthy. The slow-carb diet does allow for nutritious foods, like some vegetables, beans, and legumes, but it also restricts other nutrient-dense options, like fruits and starchy vegetables (this includes foods like sweet potatoes and butternut squash, for example).

“While replacing refined carbs with whole, minimally processed carbohydrates is an effective way to get more fiber, vitamins, and minerals, the Slow-Carb Diet takes this idea and turns it into an ultra-restrictive fad diet,” says Wells.

Wells also points out that the slow-carb approach encourages a binge-and-restrict approach to food. This may help people to lose weight in the short term, but it doesn’t help to build long-term healthy eating habits. In fact, research suggests that overly restrictive diets don’t work in the long term, with most people who follow rigid rules around food gaining weight back in the future.

This is largely because diets are often too restrictive to be sustainable. They frequently don’t allow for fun foods or treats, and this also has a knock-on effect on mental health. “For long-lasting weight loss, it’s important to make changes that you enjoy and can sustain over a lifetime,” says Wells. “The Slow-Carb Diet’s emphasis on a restrict-binge cycle is also a bad idea for mental health and does nothing to encourage a healthy relationship with food.”

Can you lose weight without a restrictive diet?

People who want to eat healthier, and potentially lose weight, should incorporate “a variety of whole fiber-rich carbohydrates into a well-balanced diet,” notes Wells.

Research suggests that a predominantly whole-food, plant-based diet, for example, which leaves room for many different foods, including treats and shelf-staple options, is one of the healthiest ways to eat. In fact, it is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer.

The Mediterranean approach to eating, which also emphasizes vegetables and makes room for foods like wine and pasta, has also been named the healthiest diet by the U.S. News and World Report multiple times.

“The Mediterranean diet focuses on diet quality rather than a single nutrient or food group,” notes the publication after releasing its 2024 report on healthy diets. “Numerous studies have shown that it reduces the risk of chronic health conditions, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes while promoting longevity and improving quality of life.”

If weight loss is your goal, both diets are also associated with fat loss. This is because both approaches prioritize whole foods, which are nutrient-dense but often lower in calories than processed options.

Source: Veg News

 

 

 

 

Vegetarian Set Meal of Vegecafe Lotus in Toyohashi, Japan

The main dish is Soy Nugget.

 

 

 

 

Dietary Changes May Beat Medicines in Treating IBS

Robin Foster wrote . . . . . . . . .

The right diet may be the best medicine for easing the painful symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), new research shows.

In the study, two different eating plans beat standard medications in treating the debilitating symptoms of the gastrointestinal disease. One diet was low in “FODMAPs,” a group of sugars and carbohydrates found in dairy, wheat and certain fruits and vegetables, while the second was a low-carb regimen high in fiber but low in all other carbohydrates.

Published in the journal Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the findings suggest that patients should first try dietary changes before moving to drugs for relief.

IBS is one of the most common and stubborn conditions gastroenterologists treat. It affects roughly 6 percent of Americans, with women diagnosed more often than men. Its symptoms are hard to ignore and life-limiting: abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation.

Treatments often include dietary changes or taking medications that can include laxatives and antidiarrheals; certain antidepressants; and other prescription medications such as linaclotide and lubiprostone — both of which increase fluid in your gut and the movements of your intestines.

Research has found that a low-FODMAP diet — which involves avoiding foods like wheat products, legumes, some nuts, certain sweeteners, most dairy products and many fruits and vegetables — can reduce IBS symptoms in most people, Dr. William Chey, a gastroenterologist at Michigan Medicine, told the New York Times.

But the diet is hard to stick with because it’s so restrictive and requires carefully reintroducing foods to identify which ones you can’t tolerate, he explained.

Some research also supports simpler dietary changes, such as eating more slowly; eating smaller and more frequent meals; and limiting coffee, tea, carbonated beverages, alcohol and fatty or spicy foods, study author Sanna Nybacka, a dietitian and postdoctoral researcher at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, told the Times.

After noticing that some of their patients also found relief with a low-carbohydrate diet, Nybacka and colleagues decided to design a trial comparing several treatment options.

Conducted at a hospital clinic in Sweden, researchers followed 241 women and 53 men with moderate to severe IBS. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups for four weeks.

In the medication group, researchers gave each participant one of eight IBS medications based on their main symptoms, Nybacka said. If their primary complaint was constipation, they were prescribed a laxative called sterculia; if their main symptom was diarrhea, they gave them an antidiarrheal called loperamide (Imodium).

A second group was given groceries and recipes so they could follow a low-FODMAP diet, which included foods like rice, potatoes, quinoa, wheat-free bread, lactose-free dairy products, fish, eggs, chicken, beef and various fruits and vegetables. Nybacka said they were also encouraged to eat slowly, have regular, small meals, and limit other foods and drinks that could trigger symptoms.

The last group received groceries and recipes to follow a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, which focused on foods like beef, pork, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, yogurt, vegetables, nuts and berries.

After four weeks, 76 percent of those in the low-FODMAP group and 71 percent of those in the low-carbohydrate group reported significant reductions in their symptoms, while only 58 percent of those in the medication group reported improvements. Among participants who noticed improvements, those in the diet groups reported much greater symptom relief than those in the medication group, Nybacka added.

Nybacka said she was surprised that the low-carbohydrate diet worked essentially as well as the low-FODMAP diet.

After the four weeks, some participants continued taking the medications and following the dietary changes. At six months, those in the diet groups still had fewer symptoms than they did at the start of the trial, despite the fact that most of them did not stick as closely to the diets.

Chey said the study provided “real data” to support what many doctors have seen in their practices: “Diet therapy is at least as good and probably better” than medication.

But because the trial was conducted on a relatively small group of people at a single medical center in Sweden, the findings will need to be confirmed in larger and more diverse groups of people, he added.

Not only that, some IBS drugs may need more than four weeks to take full effect, Dr. Lin Chang, a gastroenterologist at UCLA Health, told the Times.

For some, a combination of diet and medication may work best, Chang added.

Still, the findings confirm that dietary changes can be an important option for treating IBS, Chey added.

People should talk with their doctors before adopting either diet, Nybacka said, because there was a small increase in blood cholesterol levels among folks in the low-carbohydrate group.

And both diets may not be appropriate for those who have or are at risk for an eating disorder, Chey noted.

But for everyone else, IBS symptoms might be managed simply “by eating differently,” Nybacka said.

Source: HealthDay

 

 

 

 

Thai-style Vegetables with Noodles

Ingredients

8 oz egg noodles
1 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp groundnut oil
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1-inch piece fresh root ginger, finely chopped
2 fresh red chillies, seeded and sliced
4 oz broccoli, broken into small florets
4 oz baby corn cobs
6 oz shiitake or oyster mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch spring onions, sliced
4 oz bok choy or Chinese leaves, shredded
4 oz beansprouts
1-2 tbsp dark soy sauce salt and black pepper

Method

1. Cook the egg noodles in a pan of boiling salted water according to the packet instructions. Drain well and toss in the sesame oil. Set aside.
2. Heat the groundnut oil in a wok or 2 large frying pan and stir-fry the garlic and ginger for 1 minute. Add the chillies, broccoli, corn cobs and mushrooms and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes.
3. Add the spring onions, shredded leaves and beansprouts and stir-fry for another 2 minutes.
4. Toss in the drained noodles with the soy sauce and ground black pepper.
   Continue to cook over a high heat for a further 2-3 minutes, until the ingredients are well mixed and warmed through. Serve at once.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Vegetarian Classics

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