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UPI
22-07-2025
- Health
- UPI
Eat better to better, Columbia researcher suggests in cookbook
1 of 3 | Complex carbohydrates and fiber from fresh and fruits and vegetables are a key part of a diet designed to promote better laid out in a new cookbook authored by a top U.S. nutrition researcher. File Photo by Debbie Hill/ UPI | License Photo ST. PAUL, Minn., July 22 (UPI) -- A top U.S. nutrition researcher is translating her expertise on the connections between diet, better sleep and heart health from the pages of dry academic journals into a colorful mass-market cookbook. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, a professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, along with recipe expert Kat Craddock, have chronicled dozens of recipes and lay out a 28-day meal plan designed for better sleep health in Eat Better, Sleep Better, published by Simon & Schuster earlier this year. St-Onge in recent years has published studies exploring various angles of the connection between what we eat and how we sleep -- a field that remains poorly understood even as doctors have named lack of proper sleep as one the top risk factors for heart disease. Her work has mainly centered on examining the relationship between sleep, weight management and cardiometabolic disease risk. She has also performed well-received research on "functional foods," or foods that offer health benefits, and on how ingredients affect weight management and cardiovascular disease risk prevention. Now with Eat Better, Sleep Better, she and Craddock have produced an elegant, 288-page cookbook packed with 75 recipes meant to give users an opportunity to shape their diets around foods that promote better sleep. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it prioritizes protein sources that are rich in tryptophan, the amino acid that serves as the building block for the sleep-regulating hormones melatonin and serotonin. Tryptophan, of course, is found in turkey and is famous for producing drowsiness after a full Thanksgiving Day dinner. But the book goes well beyond that, highlighting several other ingredients tied to healthier sleep, such as omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in salmon; complex carbohydrates found in oats and buckwheat; and spices like ginger and turmeric. For example, the book's recipe for savory lamb stew notes that lamb is exceptionally high in tryptophan and is also an excellent source of several essential nutrients, including zinc and vitamin B6, "two of the four essential nutrients involved in the body's production of serotonin and melatonin." Similarly, the recipe for chia pudding identifies tiny chia seeds as "a sleep-supporting superfood," not only rich in protein and tryptophanm but also in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, magnesium, fiber, complex carbohydrates, vitamin B6 and zinc. St-Onge told UPI one of her main goals with Eat Better, Sleep Better is to translate her scientific research on sleep into a more popular format at at time when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 40% of U.S. adults are getting insufficient sleep. "We do all this work and always publish it just in scientific journals, and my book agent said, 'But the public wants to know, too, it should be something that's available for them as well,' and I thought, he kind of has a point," she said. "We need to disseminate the work that we do, the findings that we have. "Especially in this day and age when the work that we do is funded entirely from taxpayer dollars or donor dollars, if we're talking about the American Heart Association, and it's really a return on their investment -- the knowledge that we can impart to them." St-Onge said she also finds that nutritionists sometimes have a misconception about the ability of people to translate esoteric facts about micronutrients into real-world diets, especially if it means changing those diets. "If you're saying eat more plant protein or eat more fiber, they'll ask, 'Where can I find fiber and plant protein?' And I'll say, well, buckwheat is a great grain. 'Buckwheat? What's that? And how I am going to put it to use in my own diet?' "I thought it was wonderful that I able to get paired with Kat, my co-author, who is in the food world and the recipe development world, and talking more about the application of nutrition in real life. I like recipes, and I also like to cook, but I've never been trained in recipe development or anything like that. So it was nice to be able to be part of that process." Craddock would develop the recipes and send them to St-Onge, who would then try them at home and offer some additional suggestions. One of the reasons there's a need for a sleep-centered cookbook is because it's not just what's eaten before bedtime that affects the quality of sleep, but rather what's consumed throughout the whole day, and over even longer periods, that counts in the body's ability to make melatonin. "We're saying sleep is complicated, it's not just about what happens at night, it's about what happens during the day," she said. In the background of it all is the risk that poor sleep poses to heart health. The American Heart Association in 2022 added sleep to its list of "Life's Essential 8," the eight top markers for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health, calling proper sleep "vital to your heart and brain health." That assessment is shared by Dr. Kin M. Yuen, spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and a sleep medicine specialist at UCSF Health in San Francisco. "A balanced diet with a healthy amount of lean protein, carbohydrates, including fruits and vegetables, starches and healthy fats, along with nuts and seeds -- for those without allergies -- is the most optimal" for healthy sleep, she told UPI in an emailed statement. Generally, she added, sleep specialists support their nutritionist and cardiology colleagues in advocating for a diet that may include plant based protein, leafy greens and lean animal proteins, such as chicken, fish and seafood, depending on the individual's sensitivity and tolerance. Yuen said it's also important for people with sensitivities or intolerances to specific substances to avoid or limit those food groups, as they may disturb or fragment sleep. "Therefore, those with lactose intolerance may have better sleep by ingesting fewer dairy products or using lactose-free dairy only," she said. "For those with diagnosed celiac disease or gluten sensitivities, sleep may be improved without gluten in their diet, which may cause bloating, stomach upset or nausea, and sometimes weight loss." Ultimately, she cautioned, no one diet plan works for everyone. "Individual differences and allergic tendencies may limit the intake of a particular food group. Viral, bacterial illness and antibiotic use may make a regular diet not feasible," Yuen warned. Nevertheless, "good sleep and healthy diets go very well together," she concluded. "Adequate exercise also ensures sleep quality is optimized. Adequate daytime sunlight and devoting enough time to sleep will help ensure that the quality of sleep is optimal."
Vox
30-06-2025
- Health
- Vox
Obsessive step counts are ruining walking
According to my phone, I've been averaging about 6,600 steps a day so far this year. My meager effort pales in comparison to the 15,000, 20,000, or even 30,000 steps I see influencers on my feed bragging about regularly. To be clear: There is nothing wrong with walking — it's a free and low-impact exercise that, compared to running, has greater mass appeal. Americans are overwhelmingly sedentary, spending an average of 9.5 hours a day seated, and anything that inspires people to move more is good news. But quantifying your every step, tracking every ounce of protein ingested, or hours slept can border on obsessive. The current cultural fixation on nutrition and fitness also speaks to a shift toward beauty standards that once again idealize thinness. Mix that with American hustle culture, and you have a recipe for turning a low-key activity into a compulsion. 'This all comes down to how much our culture values productivity above everything else,' says Keith Diaz, an associate professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. 'It's just another metric that we measure ourselves by.' From leisure to optimization Walking is perhaps one of the most functional and accessible forms of movement: It gets you where you want to go, and you don't need any special equipment to do it. The vast majority of people walk at some point during their day without having to think too much about it. It makes sense, then, that walking has come in and out of fashion as a form of exercise throughout history. In the late 1800s, leisure walking became a popular sport. A century later, at the height of the fitness boom in the 1980s, walking got a rebrand and a refresh, thanks to a book called Heavyhands touting the benefits of walking with weights. 'That became,' says Danielle Friedman, the author of Let's Get Physical: How Women Discovered Exercise and Reshaped The World, 'a way to make walking not seem weak.' To achieve a textbook hot girl walk, you must walk four miles while expressing gratitude and envisioning your goals. The pandemic was a major boon for walking. With gyms and fitness studios closed and cabin fever setting in, many took to strolling as a way to get moving out of the house. Walking was gentler and less punishing than the high-intensity fitness trends of the early 2000s, Friedman says. 'The pendulum swung a little bit more toward just appreciating movement for movement's sake,' she says. But as social media caught on — the original 'hot girl walk' clip was posted on TikTok in January 2021 — walks became more performative. Walking now had a purpose. To achieve a textbook hot girl walk, for instance, you must walk four miles while expressing gratitude and envisioning your goals. Over time, the step counts ballooned. Keeping careful track of your mileage also has a long history. The first modern pedometer was designed in 1965 in Japan. Called the manpo-kei, or 10,000 steps meter, this simple act of marketing helped cement the 10,000-step threshold as a benchmark that one should strive to hit for good health and well-being. The science doesn't quite back up the marketing. Recent research has found that among women in their 70s, as few as 4,400 steps a day is related to lower mortality, compared to 2,700 steps or less. Those who walked more had even less risk for early mortality, but those benefits tapered off at more than about 7,500 steps. Another study of middle-aged adults found that those who took 8,000 steps were less likely to die early from heart disease and cancer compared to those who only took 4,000 steps. Again, the benefits plateaued after 8,000 steps. Similar findings suggest that 7,000 steps was the magic number (the studies, it should be noted, were observational and could not prove causation.) If you're walking for health, 7,000 to 8,000 steps, however, seems like a pretty good bet. These days, everyone's got a step counter in their pocket or on their wrist. Health tracking apps on phones and wearables like the Apple Watch, Oura, Fitbit, and Whoop have made it much easier to account for every single step. Health-related tracking can be extremely motivating when it comes to behavior change. When you have specific health or fitness goals, tracking is a good way to measure success. 'You have a target and you have a means to measure it,' Diaz says, 'which is great.' At the same time, you should want to engage in that activity because you like it and not because your watch or an influencer is telling you to move. Unless you're intrinsically motivated to achieve that goal — I walk because I like the way it feels — tracking can veer into compulsion. Once you've hit a benchmark of 10,000 or 15,000 or 20,000 steps, you may feel compelled to meet, or exceed, it every day or else fall into a shame and anxiety spiral. 'When the Fitbit first came out,' Diaz says, 'I used it for a couple weeks, and I just had to put it away because I couldn't do it anymore. If I didn't hit 10,000 steps in a day, it'd be nine o'clock at night and…I'd be circling my little, tiny living room for 20 minutes just to get my steps to where I need them to be. I'm sitting there, like how is this healthy in any way, shape, or form that I'm obsessing over a number?' Although quantifying an activity increases how often you do it, you start to enjoy it less. Soon, something that previously brought you enjoyment can start to feel like work. Although quantifying an activity (like counting steps or the number of pages read) increases how often you do it, you start to enjoy it less, a 2016 study found. This change can happen within a few days of tracking, the study's author Jordan Etkin, a professor of marketing at Duke University, says. When participants were able to see their results, they would continue the activity. But when they weren't shown their data, they lost the motivation to continue. 'The reasons for doing the activity shift from being because you like it or find some other value in it,' Etkin says, 'to being because it gives you this sense of accomplishment and productivity. When you don't get that anymore, because you're not tracking how many of these things you're doing, it's less valuable to you.' Instead of just moving for movement's sake, perpetual tracking assigns status and morality to basic bodily functions. Hitting a certain step count is 'good' and having a low readiness score is 'bad.' The number acts as a marker of wellness. These days, the ideal embodiment of that wellness has pivoted back toward thinness. No longer is a step just a step or a gram of protein a bit of nourishment — it's all in service of optimization of a skinnier, healthier self. People who track their health want every step to count, to matter, Etkin says. If it isn't being documented, it may as well not have happened. 'That introduces new dynamics into how people decide what and whether and when to do things,' she says, 'based on whether it's going to be recorded.' A healthy balance By no means should you stop walking if it improves your mental and physical health. But if the pressure of hitting a specific target every day causes anxiety or you're unable to forgo walking for a day, you may need to reconsider your relationship with your goals. This is 'because you're obsessing over this outward signal, and it becomes this unhealthy striving for perfectionism,' Diaz says. People can start to ignore their body's cues for rest and push themselves to injury. Related Take off your Oura Ring In order to maintain a more flexible outlook on your goals, Diaz suggests setting a range target — maybe 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day — or weekly benchmarks. If you know you're going to be moving a lot on the weekend, you won't be so fixated on a weekday where your step count is lower.
New York Post
21-04-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Banned rat poison sold on NYC streets as expert warns ‘genuinely scary' product can kill when inhaled
The city has confiscated 140 pounds of banned rat poison this month but street vendors keep selling the stuff – as one expert warned the black market could have deadly consequences. Local medical professionals are bracing to handle more patients exposed to the effects of the poisons with one popular but 'genuinely scary' ingredient blamed for the tragic death of four kids in Texas, said Adam Blumenberg, associate professor of emergency medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. 'A lot of what [vendors] sell is illegal, but not that dangerous as long as no one actually eats it,' Blumenberg told The Post. 'I've noticed a sudden spike in rat poisons containing phosphides, which are illegal and genuinely scary. Advertisement 6 Illegal, dangerous and potentially deadly rat poison continues to be sold openly on Manhattan streets to unsuspecting locals after a recent city crackdown on the pesticides, The Post has learned. NYPJ 'Phosphides release a deadly gas which can harm or kill people who breathe it,' the doc added. 'I expect we will see serious illness and possibly fatalities in NYC related to these products.' While phosphide — sold under the label Push Out — hasn't been spotted again by officials since the city's crackdown, other illegal and dangerous rodenticides like Sniper DDVP and Tempo are readily available on folding tables along Washington Heights' St. Nicholas Avenue shopping corridor. Advertisement The toxins are often imported illegally into the US and can cause seizures, coma, cancer and death, according to the city Department of Health. Seventeen inspections led to four summonses issued to vendors for illegal poisons since the start of the month — but Post reporters found the poisons for sale along St. Nicholas Avenue as recently as Sunday. 'Yeah they've been giving us problems for selling, they say everything's illegal,' one vendor said. 'What do you mean why are we selling it? We need money, that's why.' 6 The black market rat killers can cause seizures, coma, cancer and even death in New Yorkers seeking to take pest infestations into their own hands, according to the NYC Department of Health. Advertisement While the rest of the city saw roughly a 1% decrease in rat sightings between 2023 and 2024, rat sightings in Washington Heights and Inwood's Manhattan Community Board 12 increased by more than 15% — all as Mayor Eric Adams fights a multi-million dollar war on rats. A representative for council member Carmen De La Rosa's office told The Post that the pol spoke to Washington Heights vendors in late March to warn the sellers of the dangerous and illicit nature of the pesticides — including phosphide, which spews deadly fumes when mixed with water. 'Our main fear was that people would panic and throw it down their drain, flush it down their toilet, and then create that gas,' De La Rosa's rep said. 'Most people are probably using these things in their kitchens … where we have water and other liquids, so it's a matter of making sure we can get rid of it so that no one gets hurt.' 6 The illicit poisons include include Push Out/phosphide, a chemical that produces a deadly gas when mixed with water and has been linked to the tragic death of four children in Texas in 2017. Adam Blumenberg Advertisement But the problem is hardly contained to Upper Manhattan, according to the council member's office. Most recently, the pesticides have been tied to toxic exposures in the metro region, including one family in Queens and another on Long Island. 'It's really, really, really dangerous to humans,' the rep added. 'We're not aware of any cases in [Washington Heights], but it's difficult to single out.' 6 New York City Council Member Carmen De La Rosa speaks at a press conference on pre-K education funding in 2024. Robert Miller At the root of the problem is the Big Apple's ongoing battle against rodents — but New Yorkers taking matters into their own hands may put lives on the line, officials said. 6 In April alone, the sanitation department removed about 140 pounds of illegal pesticides from 17 separate inspections and issued 'several' summonses citywide, a rep from the agency said. NYPJ 'We have landlords who are quite negligent, we have roach infestations and rodent infestations,' De La Rosa's rep said. 'They'll buy whatever they need to address the issue of these nuisances in their own house, but sometimes it's not necessarily something that's safe to use. 6 'Yeah they've been giving us problems for selling, they say everything's illegal,' one vendor on St. Nicholas Avenue between 181st and 182nd Street told The Post. 'What do you mean why are we selling it? We need money, that's why.' Nicole Rosenthal/NY Post Advertisement 'We just want to make sure everyone is OK.' More than 8,200 cases of rodenticide poisoning were reported in the US in 2023, according to the latest annual report from America's Poison Centers. While most of the health impacts were minor, more than 2,200 included treatment in a health care facility and two of those exposures resulted in death.
