Date Someone with High Empathy

 

They will think twice before doing something that might hurt you because they know it would hurt them too.

When I was younger, I used to have a long checklist for my ideal partner. I wanted someone who was good-looking, exciting, outdoorsy, sociable, had an impressive job, and so on. Basically, I wanted someone who would make me seem cool and worthy by proximity.

I wanted someone who was different from me.

In hindsight, it was because I didn’t like myself very much.

I was young and the lack of experience and maturity made it very hard for me to manage my emotions. I was a lot more sensitive and “dramatic” than what was deemed acceptable in the dating world. I felt ashamed for being so weak and uncool. I wanted to be an attractive girl who always kept her composure and could take things easy.

So I was set on finding my “ideal” type while morphing myself into the modern life’s text-book “chill girl”, believing that it would solve my self-esteem issues (It didn’t.)

For a while, I dated people who were exactly like that checklist. I attributed value to their good look, their extroverted hobbies, their big job title. I convinced myself they were of high quality and so I wanted to be liked by them. I tried really hard to maintain the relationship with them regardless of whether it was right for me.

It was a painful struggle — not just because none of those relationships were right for me, but because I couldn’t even like the person I was dating and didn’t know why I was so desperate to have their approvals. I was often shocked by how oblivious they were to the impact of their words and actions on me, how they could just sweep back into my life after hurt feelings and disrespect as if nothing had happened.

That was usually when I dropped my chill act and let my gut out.

I sent them paragraph after paragraph while paralysed by anxiety.

I justified it by telling myself that I was being authentic and it was the right thing to do. Well, it did feel good to do. Though they remained nonchalant and I soon became the crazy one. But, the more misunderstood I felt, the more I wanted them to see the emotional side of me — the side that I’d buried so hard it hurt for all my life.

Therapy and reading books helped me understand that there was nothing wrong with being emotional.

My feelings and reactions were valid. I was rightfully triggered and deserved compassion — of course, first, from myself.

When I became calmer and had time to reflect, it hit me that none of those guys offered me compassion — perhaps they weren’t even capable of doing so. I ended up bearing by myself all the emotional cost of our inherent incompatibility and their lack of understanding.

When facing my anxiety and authenticity, they were at a loss. They were overwhelmed and scared. So they toughened up. They didn’t get it. They were nonchalant because they genuinely couldn’t see how or why something they did could wound me so deeply. They didn’t have enough empathy to experience first hand the impact of their words and actions on others.

Surely, they were emotionally intelligent enough to be good at talking smooth, pulling moves, playing hard to get, keeping others at an arm’s length, but not enough to know when someone’s genuinely hurting and needs their kindness instead of their indifference, aggressiveness, or defensiveness.

My low self-esteem issues were resolved the moment I understood that people’s inability to respond appropriately to my anxiety wasn’t my fault and I believed that being authentic and empathetic was my power.

It was my strength and also one of my core qualities.

I knew this because all my healthy and trusted platonic relationships shared this quality. Because my writing was best-received when this quality shone through. Because I felt my best self when this quality was appreciated.

Essentially, I stopped feeling the need to be validated by other people.

I validated myself and trusted my own judgment of others.

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Afterward, my checklist was renewed. My perception of those people with a shiny front also changed. I didn’t think anything bad of them but I didn’t necessarily put a high value on what first met the eyes either.

The funny thing about outer qualities (for example, a good look or a good background) is that you can’t really seek them out — it doesn’t work like that.

How it usually happens is this: You carry them yourself and people who are similar to you will navigate towards you. You shall be the walking demonstration of those qualities.

Inner qualities are different.

Inner qualities take time to recognise and uncover.

So, while I continually become a better me, I put empathy at the forefront of my checklist. I acknowledged my anxiety and emotional nature and I decided that I needed a partner who had enough emotional depth to handle it. I asked for emotional depth also because I knew it was something I had plenty of — something I could give back just as much as I might receive.

From then on, my dating or even friendship experience transformed.

I connected with people who might or might not seem outwardly successful by society’s or media’s standards, but they were genuine and authentic and powerful in their own ways. Our friendships had real depth and were fulfilling to me. I also found a partner who is so wonderfully empathetic and highly emotionally intelligent that my heart could sometimes burst in appreciation and happiness.

Date someone with high empathy because they will see you and see your reasons.

They will think twice before doing something that might hurt you because they know it would hurt them too. They will ask you what you’re thinking and get to the bottom of your difficult feelings. They will make you feel safe and seen and cared for every single day. They will embrace you not just with their body but with their big heart and kindness. They will make you be more considerate and softer when you realise you had the power to hurt them too.

Date someone who shares your core qualities. Date someone who makes you more you.

Source : Youngsters

6 Rules of Pizza

 

Salad is a side, not a topping

One thing I’ve learned traveling around the U.S. is that there is a lot of weird pizza out there. Pizza made with baking soda. Or biscuit mix. Pizza made with tasteless sauce from huge cans and pre-grated cheese that doesn’t really melt. And pizza heated up in a microwave on Amtrak (beyond gross). Not to mention some really weird toppings. All of this is so wrong, wrong, wrong.

I live in Western New York in a city with a large Italian American population — Sicilian American, to be precise. I spend a lot of time in NYC and always try to find time for a slice of the classic New York street pizza, a triangle you fold lengthwise so the point won’t droop as you shove it into your pie hole. And for years I’ve been making pizza — tweaking and searching for that perfect home version. But a recent pizza at a posh local restaurant, not Italian, brought me home to how good a perfect pizza can be.

It was wood-fired: The sauce was fresh and bright, spread thinly, and dosed with a healthy amount of red pepper flakes. Whole milk mozzarella, not fresh mozzarella, and a complete layer of very thinly sliced pepperoni. The crust was thin, blackened on the edges, and crisp on the bottom. With each bite, all these flavors stood out, while perfectly complementing each other. It was heaven and I inhaled it.

So, how do you get this at home without a wood oven and a talented staff of trained cooks? You start by knowing your pizza types.

So, how do you get this at home without a wood oven and a talented staff of trained cooks? You start by knowing your pizza types. If you live in most parts of the U.S., you have probably never eaten a proper pizza. But there’s no reason you can’t make one yourself. Let’s look at a few simple things that can elevate your pizza to near nirvana.

What is a Sicilian corner?

First, let’s define the three principal types of pizza served in New York State:

Neapolitan. Naples is the undisputed home of pizza, and in Naples, they pretty much only make two kinds of pizza. Margherita (thin crust, plain tomato sauce, fresh mozz, and a sprinkling of torn basil leaves on top, after baking) and margherita with thinly sliced salami on top. This is the Holy Grail for most pizza lovers, but it is actually quite hard for home bakers to duplicate. The ovens they use are so hot that the pizzas cook in 2–3 minutes, giving them a crackle and sear. In Italy, they are commonly eaten with a fork and knife. Street pizza here is a variation on this.

Sicilian American style. You may not see this in a lot of places and many places call it thick-crust pizza. It has a thick, bready crust and a thin even layer of cooked tomato sauce, usually pureed, and a layer of Pecorino Romano cheese. It is typically baked in a sheet or half sheet pan and cut in squares. If you like a corner (more crust), ask for a Sicilian corner. These are usually baked in pizza ovens that have a heated flat surface and are low in height so the heat is focused. This is really an invention of Sicilian immigrants seeking a filling meal at a low cost. It can be delicious.

Wood-fired “restaurant” pizza. This is the pizza I described above and am still drooling about. It is characterized by the best ingredients, minimal toppings, and a thin crust baked at high temperature. This is my target for this article. I am sad to say that many restaurants can’t resist the desire to doll these up with all kinds of non-traditional toppings and sauces. Try their margherita first — it will tell you everything you need to know about their pizza savvy, or lack thereof.

Dough, sauce, cheese, meat

These are the four basic ingredients in true pizza, with the meat being optional (typically pepperoni or Italian sausage). Obviously the dough is the foundation. Fortunately, pizza dough is very simple, only containing flour, yeast, salt, and water, and sometimes a dollop of olive oil. Nothing else. Pizza dough without salt will be tasteless. Find a recipe and make your own, or, in a pinch, you can buy it frozen or at a pizzeria. Look at the ingredients. If anything is added beyond those five ingredients, don’t buy it. A lot of commercial baking products are a chemist’s dream, not a cook’s.

Two steps are important with dough. It should be autolyzed to develop gluten. This is a process where the yeast, flour, and water are mixed together, without the salt, and allowed to rest for 30-45 minutes before kneading in the salt. It will be noticeably more elastic after this step. Proofing or rising not only develops the structure of the dough, but a longer proof also ferments it, creating flavor. Best done cold to avoid overproofing, which can weaken the dough.

A proper pizza sauce is what we call a fresh tomato sauce, just pureed San Marzano tomatoes and garlic cooked together with olive oil to blend the flavors but not until it is getting thick. The key with sauce, like so many other things, is keeping it minimal, both in preparation and in the amount used. It should barely coat the dough.

Cheese, wonderful cheese. This is where, in my opinion, a somewhat aged whole mozz stands out. The kind that comes in a bulging plastic pillow shape, not the soft fresh version. The regular mozzarella sold everywhere. It melts better and has more flavor. Grate your own — pre-grated cheese has an edible coating designed to keep it from clumping in the bag, but this coating also keeps it from melting smoothly. A dusting of Parm or Romano (from Italy please and grated by you) is optional.

Pepperoni on pizza is largely an American thing, but it is a good one.

Pepperoni on pizza is largely an American thing, but it is a good one. But not all pepperonis are equal. The best option is from a quality Italian deli where they slice it thin when you order it and let you taste it. It should not be too fatty or salty and should taste mainly of cured meat. Unless you have a meat slicer, it is much better to have them slice it. It is virtually impossible to get even thin slices with a knife. Those thin slices crisp up, release limited amounts of oil, and can be layered without overwhelming everything else.

Stretch, don’t roll

Pizza makers do not roll their dough, they stretch it. I doubt you or me is going to get adept at tossing it, though that is a great way to get a thin crust with plenty of gluten. You can pick the dough up and drape it over one closed, floured fist and work your way around, stretching while your hand supports the center. It takes a little practice. If the dough tears, it is not properly proofed. One clue is the “windowpane” test, where you grab an edge of the dough and gently stretch it until it is thin enough to see through. If it holds this without tearing, it’s ready.

Keep it simple

It is tempting to load your pizza up with goodies: onions, mushrooms, peppers, etc. Resist this because all those things contain moisture, and excess moisture is the enemy of perfectly crisp pizza. If you want onion or mushroom, replace the pepperoni with one ingredient and let it shine. In addition to moisture, it can be difficult for these toppings to cook evenly because they have different cooking times. Simplicity is the essence of pizza.

Think of it as a marriage of layers

This is something that stood out for me with my dream pizza. The dough, sauce, cheese, and meat formed thin layers that were bonded to each other. Minimal sauce and cheese and thin meat mean a pizza that does not drag a whole layer of stuff off when you bite into it. If fact, you should be able to bite through it easily.

Hot, hot, hot: maxing out your oven

Those wood-fired ovens can hit 800 degrees F, creating a blast furnace effect that welds those layers together and dries out excess moisture. You can’t really duplicate this with a conventional home oven, though there are now inexpensive grill-style ovens you can buy for outdoor use.

There are steps you can take to maximize your oven’s heat. Set it at 500 and wait until it is completely heated up to temp. An oven thermometer can help. Set an upside-down steel sheet pan (not nonstick!) on a middle rack before you turn the oven on and let it get hot. This is your cooking surface and the hot metal helps you achieve that crackly bottom crust. If you have convection, turn it on. Put your pizza in and do not open the door until you are ready to take it out. Opening the door for even a few seconds drops the temperature quickly. You may need to bake a few pies to determine the baking time, but after that, stick to your time and resist peering in!

Put the salad next to the pizza, not on it

Yes, this is another rant about excessive ingredients. Use those extras in a nicely dressed fresh salad and put that next to your pie for a perfect meal.

A great pizza is a simple thing. Use the best ingredients, bake it hot as hell, and don’t burn the roof of your mouth — it gets better as it cools. But make your own and you may have a hobby for life — and you’ll certainly eat a lot of great pizza.

Source : Youngsters

How to Deal With that Annoying Mushroom Hater in Your Famil

 

And if you are that hater, you might want to pass on this article

I’m betting there’s somebody in your family who hates mushrooms. Every family has a hater. There’s no grey area when it comes to mushroom preference. You either love them, as I and three others in my family do, or you despise them with every fiber of your being.

It’s not the same as disliking onions or green peppers, where somebody might say, “I’m not wild about them but I’ll eat them if they’re on the plate. I tolerate them. I can take ’em or leave ‘em” No, you will never hear these words from a bonified mushroom hater. NEVER! And when a hater hates, it’s stated in no uncertain terms. It’s always declared with intense conviction. It’s like a call for all other mushroom haters to stand up and unite.

I sorta get it, I guess. Mushrooms aren’t the most attractive looking thing you’ll find growing in nature, or the produce aisle at the grocery store. I agree, there’s often a slimy quality when they’re cooked. And they have that “earthy” smell. There’s a similar quality with beets. You’re either a big fan of them, or you hate on them. There’s rarely an emotion in-between.

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It’s not easy living with a mushroom hater when everyone else in the house loves them. They will never compromise. It makes menu planning difficult. Have you ever tried suggesting terms? “We can do half mushroom on the pizza”? This is generally non-negotiable.

I understand (from the haters) the mushroom essence somehow leeches its way over into the non-mushroom portion of the dish. To them, it’s no different than the concept of having a smoking section in a restaurant, or a peeing section in a swimming pool.

The hater will rarely accept the half-mushroom proposal. And If they do, it will likely come with some big song and dance to demonstrate how ultra-flexible they are being. And you’ll have to hear yet again how gross mushrooms are, how they don’t understand why anybody would eat those nasty, putrid things. How they taste like shit. A woman I know recently told me they taste like ejaculate.

I’m frankly getting tired of these haters. How is it that so many of our family meal plans can be hijacked by one hater? Why should we always be the ones to compromise? I think because it’s too exhausting to fight back. I once suggested to our hater that she can simply pick them out of the dish. I will never make that mistake again. It comes down to surrender or die with them.

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It’s now late summer — it’s getting to that season where beautiful mushrooms will begin appearing at the local farmer’s markets. Such woodland gems as Hen of the Woods, Chanterelles, Lobsters, Puffballs, and Oyster mushrooms.

I‘m getting sick and tired of kowtowing in submission to my daughter, the mushroom hater. I’m going to dig my heels in and say screw all of them. If you don’t like the smell, you can leave. If you don’t like this amazing stir-fry dish with shiitake and straw mushrooms, don’t eat it.

I’m looking forward to that first fall day when the air gets crisp and the garden begins morphing into hues of crimson and gold. My hater will come home and find me luxuriating over a large pot of thick mushroom-barley soup with a big dollop of sour cream and a warm, crusty hunk of fresh-baked bread at the ready. It’s one of the best comfort foods on the planet in my opinion.

She’ll give me that murderous glare the haters have perfected so well. Before she can get a word out, I’ll smile devilishly at her and say, “How would you like a nice piece of crusty bread?”

Source : Youngsters

Five Signs You Are Communicating With A Narcissist

 

#3. They will act like “experts”

I learned a long time ago that having a conversation with a narcissist isn’t going to be an easy walk down the street.

In fact, it’s going to be more like walking into the middle of a tornado.

A few years ago I was in a relationship with a narcissist and I would constantly wonder why it felt like our conversations never went anywhere.

After our interactions, I would always feel exhausted and depleted and my head would be spinning from all of the nonsense.

From start to finish a Narcissist is going to ensure that they are manipulating the conversation to go the way that they want it to go.

Here are the ways that they will ensure communication goes their way.

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#1. They will control the conversation topic

I didn’t understand how I was in a relationship with someone that had seemed to share common interests with me, but now we were only conversing about two topics.

Conspiracy theories and music.

If I tried to talk about my day or something going on in my life the conversation would quickly shift.

After a few weeks I realized that he didn’t want to talk about anything except for those two topics.

To keep the peace I gave in and we would almost always talk about the topics he preferred to focus on.

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#2. They will constantly interrupt you

My little brother has narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and it is next to impossible to get a sentence in without him interrupting.

The last time I saw him, he ranted on and on for hours, and my friend and I couldn’t get a word in even when we tried.

By frequently interrupting, the narcissist communicator also reinforces her or his false sense of conceit and entitlement. -Psychology Today

It got so bad at one point that I tried to speak and he put his finger over my mouth to “shush” me.

Considering the fact that he was a guest in my apartment that I shared with my best friend, we were not happy.

That was the night I finally realized how much he had manipulated the conversations we had over the years and how one-sided things were between us.

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#3. They will act like “experts”

When I was working with my ex (that’s how we met) he decided that he was deserving of a promotion that presented itself.

He went on and on for days about how he knew more about sales than anyone else and that he was the best candidate.

However, for someone who was an “expert”, his numbers and performance certainly didn’t reflect that.

In fact, he had the lowest sales numbers in our entire department.

I was one of the top account executives in the company at the time and yet, he would talk to me as if he were an expert and I knew nothing.

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#4. They will brag about their “achievements”

Have you ever noticed that someone who is truly successful and secure usually doesn’t feel the need to brag about themselves?

“Many narcissists enjoy bragging about themselves in grandiose and exaggerated terms, be it their physical attractiveness, material (trophy) possessions, social popularity, exciting lifestyle, merit badge achievements, high-status associations, or other envy-worthy attributes.” -Psychology Today

My ex would constantly talk about his glory days in his band. Although they had broken up and had only played a few local gigs he would say how amazing they were and that they could still make them “big time.”

He would also brag about the friendship he had with a manager at work and continually said it would help him move up the ladder, even though that wasn’t the case at all.

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#5. You realize that they are truly never listening

Right at the beginning of my relationship with the narcissist, he seemed to be listening to everything I said.

It wasn’t until in the aftermath that I realized he was mirroring me to learn how he could manipulate and control me later on.

Near the end of our relationship, someone asked him what my interests were and he couldn’t even answer.

I realized later on that it made sense that he hardly knew me because I never had a chance to even talk about myself because he was constantly interrupting.

Don’t waste your time trying to communicate with a narcissist. They aren’t going to listen and I promise that your energy is better spent elsewhere.

Source : Youngstes

What is the Most Consumed Vegetable in Japan?

 

It’s not what you might have guessed

Mydad brought up the question at the dinner table: “What do you think is the most consumed vegetable in Japan?”

My sister chimed in: “Onions? Or potatoes maybe?”

“I think it could be cabbage. They use them in salads all the time.”

“Do soybeans count?"

According to a national survey in 2012 by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, none of these are correct. It's daikon, or Japanese radish.

The Japanese radish

Excluding processed foods (i.e., potato chips or boxed juices), it turns out the most consumed vegetable in Japan is the daikon, measured by absolute weight. Based on the survey, on average Japanese people eat about 33. grams of this vegetable daily.

I never considered myself an avid consumer of daikon, so this fact surprised me a little bit. Onions and potatoes I would use in soups and stews, and I would often use shredded cabbage in my salads. But daikon didn’t even cross my mind.

So where is all this daikon consumption coming from?

The daikon as a condiment

Upon closer self-reflection on my own eating habits, I soon began to see the small ways in which daikon would sneak into my meals. It wasn’t that daikon was necessarily the staple, but it would often be used as a condiment.

When served raw, daikons taste tangy and a bit sharp, and maybe even a bit peppery. Because of this, grated raw daikon is often used as a topping, to add a refreshing element to traditionally fattier foods. You can find it served on top of tonkatsu (Japanese pork cutlet), with agedashi-tofu (fried tofu in dashi soup), and sometimes served on top of mizore fish. Used in the summer, grated daikon is also a great topping for dishes like tempura, soba noodles, or as a garnish on top of sushi.

There’s a dish in Japan, called wafu-hambagu, which translates to “Japanese-style hamburger.” Unlike traditional burgers, it is topped with a sauce made of ponzu, noodle soup base, a bit of sugar, and of course, a hearty pile of grated daikon on top. Compared to its Western counterpart, it’s much lighter and refreshing, and traditionally served with a side of grilled vegetables.

So this is how the daikon radish sneaks into my meals.

Japanese vegetables as condiments

Rather than douse foods in condiments like ketchup, barbecue sauce, or mayo, in this way Japanese cuisine uses whole vegetables as condiments. Daikon’s sharp natural flavor becomes the sauce necessary to add an interesting savoriness when grated. And not just this, but daikon is full of fiber and nutrients — unlike traditional sauces, which often rely on sugar or oil.

Despite being low-calorie, daikon is surprisingly very nutrient-dense. It contains specific nutrients which help trigger the release of bile, which is used to break down and digest fats; is very high in vitamin C, a nutrient that is necessary for immune system function and healing; and is also rich in folate, a B-vitamin essential for red blood cell production and converting carbohydrates into energy. It seems there is credibility behind the ancient Chinese proverb:

Eating pungent radish and drinking hot tea lets the starved doctors beg on their knees.

The most consumed vegetable in Japan

Used as a fresh condiment, it turns out I was incorporating lots of daikon into my diet while still enjoying the fried foods that I love. It was almost like sneaking whole vegetables into my diet without even paying attention to it.

I realized that to eat more vegetables, we don’t necessarily need to be eating entire salads as our main meal, but it can simply mean looking for ways to incorporate them as toppings and flavorings to our favorite foods.

So now you know — the daikon is the most consumed vegetable in Japan.

Source : Youngsters

8 Easy Ways to Detox Your Body

 

Your body needs a detox. Here’s a guide on how to do it.

Detoxing is like a spring cleaning; it removes all the unwanted substances from your body. These include heavy metals picked up from our environment, various toxins, and metabolic waste.

Although we have built-in detoxification mechanisms such as the liver and kidneys, the amount of toxic substances we are exposed to now is a lot higher than when these processes evolved.

Back when we were living on the savanna or in the jungles we weren’t exposed to pollution, pesticides, or heavy metals. Toxins can be found everywhere, from non-stick cookware to the fire retardants put in mattresses.

Signs your body needs a detox

Do you experience any of the following?

• brain fog
• gut distress
• fatigue
• general aches and pains
• acne
• anxiety and/or depression symptoms

If you said yes to any of these, it might be a sign that something is off in your body.

The following are methods I have found effective for my week-long, once a month, detoxes in my personal order of priority.

Switch to decaf

Caffeine mimics adenosine, the neurotransmitter in the brain that makes us feel tired. Caffeine binds to the adenosine receptors, therefore blocking the adenosine from binding to the receptors, which is how caffeine works to make us feel awake.

However, continued caffeine use causes our brain to create more receptors, which is why it takes more and more amounts of caffeine to achieve the same buzz.

This also means that when we don’t have caffeine, or when the caffeine runs its course, there are a lot of receptors for the fatigue-inducing adenosine to bind to and we experience a huge crash in energy.

I love coffee, so I’m not willing to give it up altogether. People talk all the time about quitting caffeine, and I’m sure there are amazing benefits to this. But coffee and tea also have amazing health benefits and research has consistently linked coffee consumption to increased longevity. It tastes good, and I like the focus and energy it gives me. But you need to be aware of what it does to your body.

A one week detox from caffeine will allow your brain to get rid of some of the adenosine receptors in your brain, by the use it or lose it mechanism.

Intermittent fasting

I never used to fast, and all the times I tried it I could feel my sympathetic nervous system being stimulated. My body was stressed, and I didn’t react well to it. But over time I have slowly (and accidentally) pushed my breakfast time further and further back. I just find I have more time in the morning to do deep work if I don’t eat. And now I feel great not eating for 14–16 hours, and barely think about it.

For some people, fasting is stressful on the body. I don’t recommend fasting if you’ve had a bad sleep, have a stressful day ahead, or are feeling particularly hungry. You don’t want to stress your body more. Eat if you’re hungry.

But going for extended periods of time without food gives the digestive system a break, and induces cellular autophagy. This is essentially a cleaning out process where the body gets rid of old cells and cellular waste products.

Similarly, during the day take breaks from eating. Try not to snack between meals. It will have benefits for your gut as well as your circadian rhythm:

“By giving your body a break from food for five or six hours, you are allowing your digestive track to rest and reset its circadian rhythm. This is an important step in healing the brain-gut axis.” – Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar

Go carb-free

There are two sources of fuel that the body can use: glucose and ketones. Glucose is produced from carbohydrates (and your body can also make a small amount of glucose from breaking down protein). Ketones come from fatty acids metabolized by the liver. Your body won’t generally produce ketones unless there is no glucose available, such as in a carb-free or ketogenic diet.

Humans have evolved to go through stages of carbohydrate restriction. Back in our hunter-gatherer days, there were often periods of time when there were very minimal if any, sources of carbohydrate. Some populations did and still do live most of their lives in ketosis (the state of your body producing ketones).

For example, the Inuit people of northern North America often don’t have access to fruits and vegetables due to the climate and rely on meat for energy. This creates an almost constant state of ketosis.

Ketones are beneficial in numerous ways. Ketones have a natural anti-inflammatory effect, and the metabolism of ketones doesn’t produce free radicals as glucose metabolism does.

In fact, ketones are the preferred fuel source of the brain and can increase cognitive abilities, as well as focus and concentration. I like to utilize this little hack when I am studying for exams, and have found dramatic improvements in grades. Ketones increase antioxidants and reduce oxidative stress in the body.

A keto diet also mimics being in a fasted state, so combining this with the intermittent fasting mentioned above creates potent autophagy effects. Ketones will also help improve gut lining integrity, an important mechanism for reducing symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, and anxiety.

As a side note, it’s also important during this period to eat clean. Going keto will eliminate refined sugars and substances like gluten and a lot of dairy, but make sure you are also not ingesting vegetable oils or any other fake foods. Eat foods as they come in nature. This will produce huge results.

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Eat detoxifying substances

Spirulina is a type of cyanobacteria that is known as an accumulator; essentially, it will bind to any heavy metals in your body, thus reducing the levels of these metals in your tissue.

Other things you can include in your diet this week include dandelion extract, ginseng, and zinc. These substances have also been shown to reduce the levels of heavy metals and toxins in our body. Milk thistle extract helps with the growth of liver cells, and also fights oxidative stress. It is also high in antioxidants. Broccoli, lemon, garlic, and turmeric also aid the digestive system and liver detox processes. Try to include as many of these foods as you can during this week.

Drink bone broth

Bone broth is incredibly nutrient-dense, and also adheres to the ketogenic diet. It’s full of collagen, a crucial component of muscle as well as being the most abundant protein in your body. Furthermore, as with ketones, bone broth improves the integrity of the gut lining, an important aspect of improving symptoms such as fatigue and brain fog.

There are many companies that make good quality bone broths. I usually buy Nutra Organics, but Kettle & Fire is probably the most well-known brand.

But usually I make my own bone broth. It is a whole lot cheaper than buying it, and you know the ingredients are of good quality. Put the following into a slow cooker and simmer on the low heat setting for 24–36 hours:

• Grass-fed bones (usually I use leftover bones from pork roasts or lamb chops). It’s recommended that you bake them in the oven for about 30 minutes first to improve flavor.
• Filtered water (enough to cover everything).
• Apple cider vinegar to help extract the nutrients from the bones (about 2 tablespoons).
• Garlic and other herbs for flavor.
• I also like to add ginger and turmeric for extra potent brain health benefits.

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Oil pull

This is an Ayurvedic technique I have recently been experimenting with. It’s not as awful as I expected but I also wouldn’t say that it’s pleasant. Essentially, oil pulling is when you put a tablespoon of oil in your mouth, usually organic coconut oil, and swish it around for 10–15 minutes before spitting it out (not down the drain as the oil will clog it).

What this does is remove the fat-soluble toxins and bacteria from your mouth. This not only helps to clean your teeth and gums for overall improved oral health but has also been shown to help with inflammation in the body. You do this on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning.

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Heat therapy

Saunas are especially beneficial for detoxing the body, but it can be a pain trying to get to the nearest public pool to use their sauna. If you have access to a sauna or hot tub, utilize it regularly. I just have an extra hot bath (for added benefits add Epsom salts). As long as it is hot enough to get you sweating, it will work. Sweating removes toxins from your body.

Rebounding

I always thought this was a crazy and odd thing to do. But there are so many benefits to jumping on a mini trampoline, especially first thing in the morning. It gets your heart rate up and burns more calories than running, and also stimulates your lymph system by increasing lymph flow and drainage (7). This will improve immunity, improve fitness levels, as well as increasing blood flow and boosting circulation. Here is a list of 197 other benefits of rebounding.

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Detoxing your body is an important part of staying healthy. It improves your gut, your brain, and removes toxins and metabolic waste from your body. This will lead to greater feelings of wellbeing and a decrease in symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, and anxiety.

A week-long detox should include as many of the following as possible:

• Avoid caffeine
• Fast intermittently
• Avoid carbohydrates
• Eat detoxifying substances such as spirulina and milk thistle
• Drink bone broth
• Try oil pulling
• Expose your body to high levels of heat
• Jump on a mini-trampoline

Source : Youngsters

Fasting vs Caloric Restriction: Which Is Better For Weight Loss?

 

Competitive analysis between the two dieting heavyweights

In1944, one hundred men were enrolled into a year-long study which would later be notoriously nicknamed the Minnesota Starvation Experiment. Lead researcher Ancel Keys had hoped to develop a treatise to scientifically back up the grave necessity of the Allied relief fund, which provided assistance to famine victims in Europe and Asia.

In order to do that, he designed a trial investigation to determine the physiological and psychological effects of severe and prolonged dietary restriction and the effectiveness of dietary rehabilitation strategies.

The trial was divided into four distinct periods, involving a standardized 3-month control period for all participants, where they were allowed 3,200 calories a day, followed by the semi-starvation period, where men were only allowed half of their usual ration — 1,560 calories.

After the 6-month period, the subjects were further divided into four groups for another 12 weeks, each group receiving different treatment and were exposed to different dieting schemes. After the entire 48-week period was over, the subjects entered an 8-week period of unrestricted rehabilitation period before they were finally released from the shackles of this truly grueling experiment.

The study’s simplified abstract makes it seem like the 6-month starvation period isn’t so bad, but caloric intake was in fact adjusted per individual to achieve a weight loss of approximately 1.1 kilograms per week, meaning some men, especially those who by nature have lower metabolic rates, received less than 1,000 calories a day.

Because the relief fund would most likely impart with the country’s cheaper produce, the experiment utilized foods that were high in carbohydrates, such as potatoes, turnips, bread, and macaroni. Meat and dairy were rarely given, owing to the downside it would have imposed on the US economy.

This one-year experiment birthed a two-volume, 1,385-page report which contains an extensive analysis of the physiological and psychological data collected during the study.

Among the conclusions, findings were pathological hypothermia (one subject had to wear a sweater on a hot and sunny July afternoon) as body temperature dropped to an average of 35.4˚C (95.7˚F) and physical endurance dropped by half.

Strength was found to have shrunk by 21%, and subjects recalled experiencing a complete lack of interest for anything but food.

All sorts of neurotic behaviors were also observed, as subjects began hoarding cookbooks and other utensils. Two subjects had to be taken off the study after being caught stealing and eating raw turnips and taking scraps of food from garbage cans.

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In 1965, Angus Barbieri kicked off an unlikely journey that would end up shattering a world record and surpassing human limits once thought impossible after he completed it 382 days later. What did this respectable Scottish man accomplish? He fasted for over a year. Angus Barbieri lived on black coffee, tea, soda water, and multivitamins living at his humble abode Tayport, while frequently checking in at Maryfield Hospital for medical evaluation.

Angus lost 125 kilograms (276 lbs) as his weight dropped from 207 to 82 kilograms, setting a world record for the longest fast ever (successfully) accomplished. A medical report issued by the Scottish University’s Medical Department said that “the patient remained symptom-free, felt well, and walked about normally”. The man lost an average of 2.3 kilograms a week during his fast, which is more than double that achieved by the Starvation Experiment, and showed no ill-effects on top of that.

To be fair, it’s both scientifically and rationally unwarranted to compare the two cases apple-to-apple. The second case study involved just 1 person, who was in all likelihood a one-of-a-kind outlier and had a substantially higher starting body weight. But it does illustrate some very interesting points about just how different the physiological responses one can get from fasting — eating nothing — compared to eating less.

Dr. Jason Fung, in his book The Obesity Code, stipulates that caloric restriction will result in less weight and fat loss, more muscle loss, and more hunger. Similarly, in Upton Sinclair’s 1911 book The Fasting Cure, he writes about fasting as a means to improve health.

“I was very hungry for the first day — the unwholesome, ravening sort of hunger that all dyspeptics know”, he wrote. “I had little hunger the second morning, and thereafter, to my great astonishment, no hunger whatever — no more interest in food than if I had never known the taste of it.”

Sinclair liked to take long fasts, often up to 12 days or so. Here’s another excerpt from his book backing his choice of longer fasts.

“Several people have asked me if it would not be better for them to eat very lightly instead of fating, or to content themselves with fasts 2 or 3 days at frequent intervals.

My reply to that is that I find it very much harder to do that, because all the trouble in the fast occurs during the first 2–3 days. It is during those days that you are hungry.

Perhaps it might be a good thing to eat very lightly of fruit, instead of taking an absolute fast — the only trouble is that I cannot do it. Again and again I have tried, but always with the same result: the light meals are just enough to keep me ravenously hungry.”

In the book, Sinclair says you will know when you should finish fasting because your hunger will return. The patients he treats and enrolls in his fasting program usually return to eating after more than 10 days of fasting.

This theory runs contrary to the idea that one would get hungrier and hungrier as long as they don’t eat. However, most people have experienced themselves that this is not the case. Some will find that they are not hungry at all in the morning, or at least not as hungry as lunch or dinner. But consider this, the morning is when you’ve gone the longest without food.

This phenomenon can be partially explained by the hormone ghrelin, which signals hunger to the body by increasing appetite and is sometimes associated with weight gain.

A famous 2005 study by the University of Vienna looked at patients participating in a 33-hour fast while having their ghrelin levels checked every 20 minutes. Ghrelin is lowest at 9 am, which is when they have gone the longest without food. Predictable Ghrelin comes in patterns and overall does not rise during the period the subjects were fasting.

Ghrelin levels are at its trough at 09:00, which is around waking hours

Ghrelin spikes are expected during supposed ‘lunch’ and ‘dinner’ periods (shown as (L) and (D) on the graph), as the body has accustomed to releasing ghrelin during those hours, but drastically drops again just 2 hours after receiving no food.

It may sound illogical and untrue, but you may have experienced this as well, perhaps when you were too busy doing something that you simply skipped an entire meal and not feel hungry afterward.

This is important to acknowledge if you are just starting your fast because you will need to overcome those natural hunger spikes. But as Sinclair repeatedly assures in his book, the hunger will simply go away if you are patient enough.

Another study in Denmark looked at 33 subjects who fasted for 84 hours, just over 3 days. They saw similar ghrelin patterns throughout the day, but total daily production actually decreased the longer they fasted. Going longer without food actually made them less hungry. This idea gives credence to what Upton Sinclair said about hunger disappearing after the initial 3 days of fasting.

Another thing that happens during these fasts is ketosis when your body essentially uses fat to create energy. 

Ketosis is mainly popular as a dietary method for weight loss but it also has many other benefits including better physical and mental efficiency. Ketosis occurs when you restrict carbohydrate consumption down to 50 grams or less per day and you don’t eat too much protein, triggering the body to utilize its own fat storage as a source of energy as reserves run low.

The recommended ratio for a ketogenic diet is 5% carbs, 20% protein, and 75% from good, healthy fats.

Another way to enter ketosis is to just stop eating for some time — or in other words, to fast.

This is one other way that caloric restriction differs from fasting. The main problem with the Minnesota Starvation Experiment was that they are eating just enough to keep them out of ketosis and keep their metabolism prime for burning carbs, so they couldn’t exploit their body fat for energy.

Muscle is digested for energy instead, which also explains why they were losing strength and were so sluggish and cold. This goes in line still with Sinclair’s claim that light meals such as fruits were enough to keep him ravenously hungry and far weaker than if he had just been eating nothing.

The interesting thing about carbohydrates is that they stimulate insulin release, and too much of it decreases the secretion of hormone-sensitive lipase, which is necessary to mobilize fat and use it for fuel. Processed refine sugars will cause a higher insulin spike than fruits and vegetables.

Because the body cannot use fat as fuel, the body will simply slow the metabolism down to preserve energy. In the Minnesota Experiment, the subjects’ metabolism dropped on average by 40%. The body did not have access to its stored energy and the restricted caloric diet did not provide much fuel so there was no other choice than to curb metabolism.

Ironically in fasting, as Dr. Jason Fung points out, metabolism actually goes up. A 2000 study showed that the REE (resting energy expenditure) goes up with every additional day of fasting, which means you’re burning more energy than you do without fasting.

If there are no carbohydrates and fat, the body will break down muscle to form glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis. This is obviously bad for the body in the long-term, as shown by the ill-effects it presented to the subjects of the Minnesota Starvation Experiment.

When the body is unable to access its own stored energy, as in the case with consequentially decreased metabolic rates, it is more likely to resort to this destructive act. Caloric restriction increases the risk of muscle loss.

Fasting also increases the secretion of Human Growth Hormone (HGH), which is an anabolic hormone, and as its name implies, is responsible for growth. A little piece I remembered reading in one of my first-year textbooks on human physiology suggests that “growth hormone also mobilizes large quantities of free fatty acids (FFAs) from fat tissues, which in turn are used to supply most of the energy for the body’s cells, thus acting as a potent protein sparer.” HGH prevents muscles from breaking down. In the Danish study I quoted earlier, HGH rises significantly after the second day of fasting.

One should enter ketosis sometime within the first 3 days of fasting, which depends on a multitude of factors, among which are your level of physical activity and what your diet looked like before starting the fast. Ketosis is a good sign that your body is making good use of its stored energy, and can be evaluated through routine blood work.

Exercise is an adjunct that can help increase HGH release and enter ketosis, and fasting also increases the amino acid leucine, which has an anabolic effect on the body, helping it preserve lean body mass.

To summarise the mammoth list of evidence and facts in this article, fasting appears to be superior to caloric restriction when it comes to weight loss. It can help you lose weight faster through the helping hands of ketosis and retains muscle mass for effectively, as well as preserving energy and keeping you away from hunger with longer duration fasts.

However, it is important to keep in mind that more research is still needed to unearth the long-term effects of fasting, and whether or not it is healthier than a normal diet for healthy and fit adults not intending any weight loss.

Source : Youngsters