Tuesday, November 26, 2019

This is the difference between mindful eating and intuitive eating

This is the difference between mindful eating and intuitive eatingThis is the difference between mindful eating and intuitive eatingFirst, there wasmindful eating, which extended the concept ofmindfulnessto our plates forhealthier choices. But just when we thought wed gotten the core tenets of this eating pattern down, another dietary approach with a similar name has come alongIntuitive Eating.If youve heard ansicht two terms and are feeling a bit confused about whether they can be used interchangeably (or whether one is somehow an extension of the other), youre not alone. As a nutritionist myself, I initially assumed that Intuitive Eating was simply the new lingo all the cool kids were using to talk about mindful eating. As it happens, however, though these two food philosophies have many similarities, they also come with distinct differences in purpose and practice.A bit of backgroundBefore we delve into the contrasts between mindful eating and Intuitive Eating, lets take a look at the history. As youre likely aware, the mindfulness movement, so popular lately inmeditationandtherapy, is not a new phenomenon. The idea of anchoring attention in the present stretches thousands of years back into Zen Buddhist history. So although mindfulness, as applied to the food we eat (and how we eat it), has been promoted by a handful of prominent academics - such asJon Kabat-Zinnat the University of Massachusetts andBrian Wansinkat Cornell - no single individual can really take credit for it. (Still, for the sake of a timeline, many people view the publication of Wansinks bookMindless Eating($25) in 2006 as the starting point for increased awareness of the concept.)Unlike these rather nebulous origins,Intuitive Eatinghas a much mora structured background. Its a trademarked program developed by two registered dietitians, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch. In an effort to help their clients establish healthy relationships with food, Tribole and Resch outlined a10-principle phi losophyin their 1995 bookIntuitive Eating A Revolutionary Program That Works($18). Twenty-three years later, the program has grown into its own empire of books and workshops. Dietitians and other health professionals may now receive training to become certified Intuitive Eating counselors.The differences between mindful eating and Intuitive Eating dont end with their backstory. Though both may yield the saatkorn end results (like achieving healthy weight or enjoying food more), they do so via distinct paths.What is mindful eating?Mindful eating, as its name implies, aims to engage and focus the mind. Dining mindfully might mean, for example, eliminating distractions likeTVor your phone in order to concentrate on food as its own event. By choosing mindful eating, you are choosing to enjoy your meal in a calm and comfortable place, says Phoenix, AZ-based registered dietitian nutritionistYaffi Lvova. You forego distraction to focus on the complete sensory experience of the food the tas te, texture, temperature, smell, and your natural biological reactions to it.A mindful attitude toward eating can take on other forms as well. Savoring is a mainstay of the mindful experience of food. Taking time to enjoy something delicious tends to make it even more satisfying - often leading to consuming less of it. Mindful eating also emphasizes paying attention to the bodys cues of hunger and fullness Eat when youre hungry. Stop when youre full. (What could be more logical?) And pausing to give thanks before eating creates mental space for contemplating questions like where your food came from and how it will nourish your body.Okay, so what is intuitive eating?If mindful eating focuses on the mental experience of food, you might say Intuitive Eating takes this one step further, from the mental to the emotional - and beyond. To varying degrees, eating is an act loaded with emotion, both positive and negative. For some, this can lead toeating disordersor unhealthy relationships to food. Certain foods become virtuous, others villainous. In consuming them, we can assign these labels to ourselves as well. Intuitive Eating aims to turn this black-and-white, emotionally-fraught thinking on its head - as reflected in Principles Number One Reject the Diet Mentality and Number Three Make Peace With Food.Also in contrast to mindful eating (which by definition pertains only to food), Intuitive Eating encompasses far more than diet. With principles like Exercise - Feel the Difference and Honor Your Feelings Without Using Food, the program attempts to move hyper-vigilance around food choices to a more comprehensive understanding of health. Says Lvova, who encourages Intuitive Eating with her clients, My clients are searching for true health - the kind reflected in blood results, mood, quality of sleep, and overall life enjoyment.This big-picture approach to food and health means that Intuitive Eating is rarely used with weight loss as an end goal. (Alternatively, in pop culture and even inclinical studies, proponents point to mindful eatings effectiveness as a weight management strategy.) One of three things will happen when you start to follow IE, says Lvova. Youll lose weight, youll gain weight, or youll stay the same weight. But youll have so much more room in your head and in your life for joy.Depending on your goals, either a mindful or intuitive approach to eating may be best for you. With their shared purpose of giving the body what it truly needs, both can lead to better food choices, spot-on portion sizes, and numerous measures of health improvement. Talk to a dietitian for expert guidance on either method.This article was originally posted on Brit + Co.

Friday, November 22, 2019

How Going Back to Work Mirrors the Post-Christmas Return Line

How Going Back to Work Mirrors the Post-Christmas Return Line How Going Back to Work Mirrors the Post-Christmas Return Line Oh, what an exciting day. And for those who have the luxury of standing in line- that is being off work- a great deal of Americans were forced to trudge back into the office. They woke up to an exciting, gift and family filled Christmas Day only to wake up to the back-to-work routine the next morning. Bummer.Standing in line and sitting in a cubicle post-Christmas Day can both be equally dreadful. How can consumers and workers cope?Below are four simple steps both groups of people can take to ease the day after Christmas activity blowStrike up conversationYoure going to be in line for awhile, right? Might as well strike up a conversation with the person in front of or behind you to pass the time. Maybe you both can share your post-Christmas Day horror stories from previous years. Who knows where the conversation will lead? And you just may get a few laughs fro m doing this, a surefire way to lighten the long-line burden.The saatkorn is true while at work. Talk to your co-workers about their holiday plans. Swap stories about gift exchanges, time spent with family and the previous days activities. You can even vent about how youd rather be home than in the office a good conversation usually lifts the spirit.Pop in headphonesMaybe you dont feel like talking to anyone as you wait in line why not pop in your headphones and listen to music? At least you can help pass the time listening to your favorite tunes and drown out the post-holiday commotion.Listening to music at work always helps one to tune out distractions and focus. You can play your favorite holiday album to cheer yourself up. Or maybe youll decide to ditch the headphones and play your tunes at a comfortable office volume so your co-workers can enjoy as well. I mean, who can stay hart about being at work with chestnuts roasting on an open fire ringing in their ears?Exercise patience The day after Christmas return line is sure to be long store workers are sure to be frustrated and other standees are sure to get tired of waiting. You will certainly have to exercise patience today as you wait for your turn. Offer the cashiers a smile and inquire about their holiday. Wish them a happy New Year as you depart, and dont forget to thank them for their time. A polite attitude and gesture of appreciation always makes one feel better- especially one who doesnt have the benefit of sleeping in post-Christmas Day.If you do have to work today, you may need to exercise patience as well. Your co-workers may be disappointed with having to work today as well, or your team members may be stressed about finishing projects before the New Year. Be kind and courteous to everyone. And dont forget to smile, which is most often contagious.Stay busy to pass timeFind a way to keep yourself preoccupied as you wait in line. Make a phone call, a to-do list, clear out the memory on your phonew hatever you can do with any devices you have. And if all else fails, Candy Crush should definitely help pass the time.Staying busy in the office is a great way to quickly get through the work day. Make a list of assignments when you first arrive and tackle each one-by-one. As you steadily work and focus on the tasks at flosse (as opposed to being out of the office) youll be surprised how fast 5pm arrives.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Mini Robots for Medical Use

Mini Robots for Medical Use Mini Robots for Medical Use Metin Sitti, Carnegie Mellon mechanical engineering professor, has long had a fascination with miniature robots. Ever since his days of watching the film Fantastic Voyagea story involving shrinking people to get them inside a bodyhes always thought small. Hes happy to say hes seeing more of his dreams become realities in miniature robotics and is even more excited about the future.We understand model scale structures and materials much better than in the past, he says. We can now build robots that can manipulate scales nanoparticles, DNA. Basically we can use materials and devices like microscopes. Manipulation where we can assemble modulations can help us understand mechanics and behavior in scale.One area of strides has been in understanding how living movements can improve our daily lives. At his company nanoGriptech, analysis of a geckos sticky properties due to foot-hairs may lead to commercial adhesive improvements.The com pany website explains Although the forces acting on one individual set are small in magnitude, the cumulative adhesive effect if fruchtwein hairs were simultaneously in contact with a substrate would create very strong macroscale adhesive and friction forces. Additionally, geckos feet have the amazing ability to resist contamination, allowing for thousands of adhesive cycles with minor performance deterioration. Or the companys water runner robot, which mimics a lizards ability to avoid water drag, in a way a watercraft may elend be able to.Many of the answers are from observing whats already out there, says Sitti. When you look at what it a gecko can do, you realize how amazing it is.One of Metin Sittis latest creations a pill-sized capsule robot capable of performing tissue biopsies and dispensing drugs inside the human body. Image CMU.eduHuge strides have been made in the surgical arena as well. What was once just for Hollywood is now giving those in medicine new capabilities. N ow you can get to tough places like the brain, in the veins, the spinal cord, and inside the eye, Sitti says. We can get to really small areas and do diagnostics. Treatments like biopsies or surgical work are now happening. In fact, Sitti showed his own version of a biopsy robot to the World Science Festival in June. The size of a pill, the idea is for medical community to control the movement of it inside the body to have more awareness for possible diagnosis.The full future he believes could have the working tandem of a mini device telling you something is not right in your body, disease detection, then surgery. The ultimate level that he sees in treatment one day could be even killing cancer cells.Whats vital to Sitti is that research simply continues. Were just starting to see whats possible, he says. Some of the focus will be on better products. And some will save lives. But we need to keep analyzing.In other words, some of the most fantastic voyages have yet to be taken.Eric B utterman is an independent writer. For Further DiscussionNow you can get to tough places like the brain, in the veins, the spinal cord and inside the eye.Prof. Metin Sitti, Carnegie Mellon