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Get This: Aziz Ansari is Going to be an Author!
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Get This: Online Dating is Going Offline
Check out the list of links that should be on your radar today:
Match.com just announced that they’re launching game nights for singles across the country. Not into Scrabble? Check out some other new ways online dating companies are playing matchmaker. [NYT]
Dimming the lights can give you a burst of creativity, according to a new study. [Newser]
If you haven’t come across the graduation cake with a picture of a cat on it instead of a cap, you need to see it ASAP. [USA Today]
Tens of thousands of unnecessary surgeries happen each year, according to a new USA Today study. [USA Today]
In 2010, about 1,500 people ended up in the ER after using their cell phones while walking, according to a new study. Here’s how to stay safe if you’re texting on the go. [Newser]
Stress could make you more susceptible to Alzheimer’s, finds recent research. [ScienceDaily]
Unattractive employees face more workplace bullying, according to a new study. [Michigan State University]
As if two varieties of Doritos Locos Tacos weren’t enough, it looks like Taco Bell will also launch Spicy Doritos Locos Tacos soon. [The Daily Meal]
A new bar in California is under fire for requiring that female customers “must wear heels” as part of its dress code. [Huffington Post]
photo: Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock
The Gluten-Free Craze Is Still Going Strong
Still eating gluten? Even if you are, one of your best friends probably isn’t. About one in three American adults say they’re cutting down on gluten or completely eliminating it from their diets, according to a new survey from The NPD Group.
The company, which conducts consumer market research, polls 1,000 adults every two weeks to ask if they’re at on a diet and, if so, what kind. In 2009, NPD added reduced-gluten and gluten-free diets to the survey for the first time. As of January 2013 (the most recent number for which stats are available), the number of adults who fall into one of the two categories was at an all-time high: 30 percent.
“This shows a huge shift in attitude,” says Harry Balzer, NPD chief industry analyst. “A third of the adult population is trying to cut back on something people had never heard of just five years ago.”
Why is the diet so popular? Eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, can cause serious health problems for the estimated 2.5 million Americans with celiac disease and the other 20 million with gluten sensitivities. For them, maintaining a gluten-free diet isn’t a trend—it’s the only way to avoid digestive distress or even intestinal damage and nutritional deficiencies. “Since the diet has its roots in medicine, many people feel their health would benefit from removing gluten from their diets,” says Heather Bauer, RD, CDN, founder of bestowed.com and author of Bread is the Devil.
If you don’t have celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity, though, gluten isn’t bad for you—and stripping good-for-you grains from your diet can actually result in nutritional deficiencies, says Bauer. So if you suspect that gluten is behind your stomach trouble, don’t self-diagnose. Talk to your doctor before you make any changes to your diet. Celiac disease shares many symptoms—such as chronic diarrhea or constipation, bloating, and fatigue—with tons of other health conditions. Plus, if you give up gluten before being screened by a specialist, your blood or endoscopy test results may come back negative even if you do suffer from celiac disease.
Still, as more celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Weisz, and Victoria Beckham tout the weight-loss benefits of a gluten-free diet, even more people are jumping on the bandwagon.
“Think about how much healthier a restaurant meal is when gluten is off the menu,” Bauer says. “Your options are a salad, vegetables, fruit, or protein—not a heaping bowl of white pasta.” On the other hand, loading up on gluten-free breads, pastas, and packaged foods—which can be high in fat, sugar, and calories—doesn’t have the same effect.
If you suffer from celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity (or just want to go gluten-free) make sure to eat healthy grains such as rice, quinoa, and sorghum to get enough iron, vitamin B, and fiber. And remember, a gluten-free cookie is still a cookie.
photo: Ron Chapple Studios/Thinkstock
More from WH:
Is Gluten Bad For You?
Gluten-Free Recipes
The Best Gluten-Free Foods
Slim down in 15 days! Expert Harley Pasternak offers a proven program to shed pounds without sacrificing health or convenience in The Body Reset. Order now!
Will Going Vegan Turn You Into a Jerk?
Recently, Bieber fever officially gave way to Bieber fury. But this time, the catalyst wasn’t his crazy fan base–it was his vegan diet. According to RadarOnline.com, Justin Bieber tried to go vegan to placate his mentor Usher, who promised the teen heartthrob that a diet refresh would boost his energy while on tour. (Good man! There are plenty of benefits to eating less meat.) But as an anonymous insider told Star, Beiber’s girlfriend Selena Gomez says that excluding meat, fish, eggs, and other animal products instead turned her boyfriend into a jerk.
Since then, Bieber clearly gave up his vegan diet—when he threw up on stage during a concert last week, he blamed it on drinking too much milk (decidedly not a vegan staple). But his recent forays into going sans meat (and eggs, cheese, dairy and animal products) still left us wondering: Does being a meat martyr really turn you into a meany?
“It’s personal,” says Keri Glassman, registered dietician and Women’s Health nutrition expert. “Some people feel better without meat in their diets, while some people feel worse.” One possible explanation: Newbie vegetarians or vegans may just be hungry. Because protein and fat from meat have more calories per gram than the carbohydrates in an all-veggie diet, a vegan diet may leave you feeling empty physically—and emotionally. “You’re going to feel unsatisfied and constantly hungry if you’re not eating enough calories because you’re not eating meat, or because you’re eating an unbalanced diet,” Glassman says. “And when you don’t have enough calories, you don’t have enough fuel, and you become irritable and cranky and lethargic.”
The good news is that it’s possible to change your diet in a way that won’t drive you (or your friends) completely bonkers.
How to Stay Sane on a New Diet
1. Eat breakfast every day. Begin the day with a breakfast that includes whole grains, protein, colorful fruits and vegetables, and you’ll reap the benefits of a better mood–not to mention clarity of thought, better performance at school or work, fewer food cravings, and an all-around easier time managing your weight, says Elizabeth Somer, registered dietician and author of Eat Your Way to Happiness.
2. Chow down at regular intervals. Eat regularly to steady your blood sugar level: it’ll keep you from becoming irrationally irritable when the waiter forgets to serve your dressing on the side (what part of ON THE SIDE was not clear?) or when a fellow driver cuts you off (that %!^@# !!!). (Read more about the best time to eat.)
3. Follow the 75 percent rule. Make sure that at least 75 percent of each meal and snack you eat consists of real, unprocessed foods. A 2009 study of nearly 3500 adults published in The British Journal of Psychiatry found a link between high consumption of processed foods (desserts, fried food, processed meats—the works) and the likelihood of depression. But here’s a reason to put a smile on your face: a diet rich in whole foods provides you with the most nutritional bang for your caloric buck—you get all the nutrients and none of the useless filler, whereas with processed foods you’re only getting a fraction of the nutrients per calorie.
4. Pee pale. Drink enough water so that your urine is pale yellow, and you’ll stave off dehydration. The first sign of dehydration is fatigue, a slippery slope toward unleashing your bitchy alter ego. (Worse yet? Dehydration makes you suck at everything.)
5. Swallow this: A moderate dose multivitamin, plus extra calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, and—especially for non salmon-eaters—a DHA supplement of at least 220 mg will help fill in any gaps in your new diet and steady your mood, says Somer. Vitamin D, in particular, feeds receptors in your brain that need vitamin D to keep hunger and cravings in check, as well as to pump up levels of the mood-boosting chemical serotonin.
photo: Hemera/Thinkstock
More from WH:
6 Reasons to Eat Less Meat
Vegetarian Eating FAQs
The Real Scoop on the Raw Food Diet
Master mouthwatering recipes that fill you up and slim you down with Cook Yourself Sexy, the ultimate guide to a hotter, healthier, and more confident you.