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Cory Booker is on a mission to shut down factory farming in the U.S.

The New Jersey Senator and Democratic presidential candidate hopeful put forward a new bill earlier this month. Titled the Farm System Reform Act (FSRA), the bill is aimed at transitioning agriculture away from the factory farming system.

In the U.S., 99 percent of all animal products currently come from factory farms. These conditions are not only harmful to the animals, but theyre a threat to the planet too. One farm of 5,000 pigs can produce as much waste as a town of 20,000 people, according to animal protection organization Make It Possible.

This waste can pollute soil and make its way into water systems, including oceans, rivers, and streams.

If passed, FSRA will place an immediate moratorium on new large-scale facilities known as CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations). It will also place limits on existing CAFOs. It will devote $100 billion over a period of ten years to helping CAFO owners transition to more sustainable forms of agriculture. By 2040, the bill hopes to phase out the largest CAFOs.

Booker who follows a vegan lifestyle hopes the new bill will help small farmers and hold larger corporations to account for their environmental impact.

He said in a statement,large factory farms are harmful to rural communities, public health, and the environment and we must immediately begin to transition to a more sustainable and humane system, such as raising pasture-based livestock, growing specialty crops, or organic commodity production.

Booker isnt the only presidential candidate to slam factory farms. Earlier this year, Bernie Sanders labeled them a threat to America. He wrote on Twitter back in May, factory farms are responsible for 1.4 trillion pounds of animal waste in America.

They are a threat to the water we drink and the air we breathe, he continued.It is unbelievable to me that Republicans in Congress have been working overtime to exempt factory farms from environmental laws.

In 2018, the United Nations Environment Programme condemned the meat industry. It labeled tackling meat consumption as the worlds most urgent problem. It stated, the greenhouse gas footprint of animal agriculture rivals that of every car, truck, bus, ship, airplane, and rocket ship combined.

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Cory Booker Has a Plan to End Factory Farming Forever

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Vegan presidential candidate Cory Booker has put forward a new bill designed to end environmentally harmful factory farming in America.

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Charlotte Pointing

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LIVEKINDLY

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Cory Booker Has a Plan to End Factory Farming Forever - LIVEKINDLY

Merry Christmas! This time next week, resolution time begins. Its that time when a lot of us will be making our resolutions to drop those pounds gained over the previous couple of months of parties, gluttony and inactivity. If you are one of those who fears the inevitable holiday weight gain, I have good news for you.

Contrary to the popular belief that we gain 5 to 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, studies show that people gain quite a bit less. According to the National Institutes of Health, even though Americans gain 80% of their excess weight during this period, it equates to a mere 1 to 2 pounds. The bad news is that the weight isnt lost during the rest of the year and can lead to future obesity.

There are many tips that you hear every year about controlling the holiday bulge. These include staying active, making healthier choices, limiting alcohol consumption, not arriving at a party hungry, and learning to politely just say no. All of these tips are good advice, but the advice Im going to give may surprise you. I advise allowing for a few pleasures this time of year and dont feel guilty. Its best not to go completely out of control, but this isnt the best time of year to start a diet. The toughest part of a diet isnt watching what you eat. Its watching what other people eat.

So enjoy time with friends and family and your break from the daily grind. If you gain that 1 or 2 extra pounds this holiday season, this can easily be dropped just by returning to your normal active lifestyle and way of eating. A week of hard work and a slight calorie deficit will get you back on track. Its the rest of the year we need to be concerned about. Just an extra 100 calories a day above our energy needs will equal an extra 10 pounds of fat a year. Stay in shape through the year, and you can afford to indulge over the holidays. Instead of worrying about counting calories, you can spend the time posting your Instagram photo of your puppys new Christmas pajamas. Then, when this last week of the year passes, you can get serious by following these four tips to achieve your New Years fitness resolutions.

Write out your fitness resolution and your feelings about why that resolution is important to you. The why is the most important part of your goal. Perhaps your goal is to quit smoking. Naturally you realize smoking isnt good for you, but the why (your real reason) may be so you will be around longer for those who love you. Anytime you feel as if you might jeopardize following through with your goal, remember your why.

Dont set unrealistic goals. Set small goals. Start by dividing your overall fitness goal into a series of smaller steps. For example, if you resolved to lose 50 pounds, your goal might be to lose 5 pounds. Once you have achieved that, your next goal might be to lose another 5 pounds. Keep going until you reach your master goal.

Plan your actions. Once youve resolved to become fit, how are you going to do it? We all know that the key to fitness and a healthier lifestyle is exercising and eating a good diet. To get started, it helps to make a written exercise plan outlining fitness activity such as 30-minute daily walks, strength training every other day, or visiting the gym three to five days a week. Next, make a list of unhealthy foods you plan to avoid, for example greasy fast-food burgers, and French fries, or whatever you deem your weaknesses to be. And, finally, strive to follow through each and every day. By having a well-written plan, it will be easier to stay on track.

Dont beat yourself up over minor setbacks. Occasionally life will get in the way, and you will be forced to skip a workout or eat something not on your diet. That doesnt mean that youve lost everything that youve been working for. Return to your fitness plan and keep working at it. Just get back on plan, and progress forward.

All these tips will help keep you on track, but as advised, allow for a few pleasures and enjoy the down time with friends and family.

Perry Buchanan, owner of PT Gym, is certified as an exercise physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine, and fitness nutrition specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Email him at perry@ptgym.com. Follow @ptgym on Twitter.

Continued here:
PERRY BUCHANAN: Holiday fitness planning | Features - The Albany Herald

PORTLAND, Oregon Alisa Holteen likes to play a game where she imagines a life different from the ones shes currently living.

What would it be like, she wonders, to never have to worry about money?

She posed this question recently at the homeless camp she lives at in Northeast Portland, chatting with friends outside her tent about what it would be like to have an unlimited supply of cash. Certainly, theyd always be warm and clean, and have a roof over their heads, they agreed. Perhaps best of all, she recalled wistfully, shed never go hungry.

Holteen, 32, is one of an estimated 36 million Americans on food stamps, a federal benefits program that President Donald Trumps administration wants to cut dramatically.

There are lots of potential changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on the table, but earlier this month the Trump administration announced the first major changewillbe implemented early next year, limitingbenefits available to able-bodied adults between the ages of 18-49 like Holteen who do not have dependents. The change will not affectchildren and their parents, people over 50, people with disabilities or pregnant women.

Hunger is a problem across the U.S., with 37 million people suffering from food insecurity.That means roughly 1 in 10 Americans are hungry. And nearly one-third, or 11 million,are children.

Iyonna Logan of Denver carries a box of food to her car after visiting a Food Bank of the Rockies distribution on Dec. 19, 2019.(Photo: Trevor Hughes, Trevor Hughes-USA TODAY NETWORK)

Abby Leibman, president and CEO of MAZON, a Los Angeles-basedJewish organization committed to fighting hunger, says whether they realize it or not, every single person is connected to someone else who struggles with food insecurity.

These are people hiding in plain sight, she says, terrified of raising their hands and self-identifying as someone who needs help, especially in a climate where theyre being vilified.

The rule changes will cut SNAP by roughly $4.2 billionover five years, and directly affect nearly 700,000 able-bodied Americans, according to the Urban Institute.

The charitable food sector food banks, food pantries andsoup kitchens is bracing for a surge in need to make up for the loss in federal benefits, whichmeans such organizationswould need to nearly double their budgets and output to make up for the gap, according to MAZON.

Critics say the move is the latest stepby Trump to limit food benefits to low-income Americans. Forty-four percent of food stamp beneficiaries are working families, and 70%of them have children. They receive roughly $120 a month in benefits, and many use food pantries and food banks to supplement their benefits.

WATCH: Joe Burrow's Heisman speech helps drive more than $100K in donations to food bank

Other proposals to cut the program include limiting deductions for shelter and utility costs (which are considered when someone signs up for SNAP) and changing the way states automatically enroll people who are already receiving other forms of federal aid.

Supporters say the move protects U.S.taxpayers bymotivating anyone who can work toget a joband support themselves.

We need to encourage people by giving them a helping hand but not allowing it to become an indefinitely giving hand, said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue in a press release announcing the change. He went on to cite the national unemployment rate of 3.6%.

Now is the time for every work-capable American to find employment, the release read.

Holteen says its not that simple.

Shes been out of work for almost four years since she moved back to Oregon from Kansas. When a family member in Portland fell ill, Holteen says she quit her job in fast food and moved home. Shortly after that, her mothers boyfriend who paid the rent at their house left abruptly, leaving Holteen, her girlfriend and her mom in a bind. They couldn't pay rent and got evicted.Theyve been homeless since, living outside with her dog, a 65-pound mutt named Colby Jack Cheese who she also has to find food for.

Clients of the Food Bank of the Rockies line up to collect food distribution in Denver on Dec. 19, 2019. The Trump administration is changing food stamp requirements in a move that poverty experts say will increase demand on food banks nationwide.(Photo: Trevor Hughes, Trevor Hughes-USA TODAY NETWORK)

Holteen struggles to leave the homeless camp to find a job,worried about abandoning her mom and girlfriend. She considers herself their protector because she says shes one of the few non-addicts at the camp. Shes looked for a job but its rough out there, she says especially when your stomach is growling.

Without food, she says, you cant think.

Right now, Holteen visits food banks around Portland three to five times a month, but she anticipates shell go more if and when she gets kicked off her benefits.

Its a scenariofood pantriessay they aren'tready for. At St. Rita's Catholic Church in Northeast Portland, whereHolteen visits the food pantry once a month, they're already talking about how they'll combat the increasedneed.

Its gonna be an enormous challenge for us to figure out how to cover this financially, says Chris Kresek, a St. Ritas food pantry volunteer for 20-plus years. If we tried to make up for how much people are going to lose, wed spend what we have in the bank in two months. Were gonna have to think of a new strategy.

Robert Campbell, managing director of the Chicago-based food bank network Feeding America, says the Trump administration did what Congress would not, when legislators rejected similar cuts in the 2018 Farm Bill. And while food banks across the U.S. serve 46 million people annually, SNAP benefits provide nine times as many meals, according to Feeding America. That will be almost difficultto replicate.

For those who are losing benefits, it can be absolutely devastating, Campbell says. Charity cannot make up the gap in food assistance from the SNAP program.

Campbell says the Trump administrations repeated efforts to clamp down onfood stamp benefits showa clear pattern of taking a political stance without regard for how it will affect poor Americans.

Taking food away will not make them more employable, Campbell says. It will just make them hungry.

In rural Colorado, Lance Cheslock has worked for the nonprofit homeless shelter and food bank La Puente in Alamosa for 30 years, watching employment rise and fall with the economy. Hes also watched the potato-farming area'sslow shift away from good-paying jobs to service-industry positions paying minimum wage, with inconsistent hours and few benefits. Adjusted for inflation, the median family income in Alamosa County has dropped $2,000 since 2000, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Alamosa County unemployment rate of just 3% obscures the pocket of un- and under-employment in La Puente's larger service area, which covers a multi-countyrural area of Colorado that's the size of Massachusetts, he says. Of the approximately 48,000 people who live there, he says about 10,000 get food assistance through La Puente or other organizationsat least once annually.

This is just going to be a disaster for us, to try to come up with food that offsets what the government would have provided. As a community, we will suffer the consequences of a malnourished population, Cheslock says. This is one more nudge, one more thing that will hurt."

Gabriela and Brian Godoy feed their one-year-old son, Elian, bread after visiting a Food Bank of the Rockies food distribution in Denver on Dec. 19, 2019. The Trump administration is changing food stamp requirements in a move that poverty experts say will increase demand on food banks nationwide.(Photo: Trevor Hughes, Trevor Hughes-USA TODAY NETWORK)

Cheslock says he and other leaders ofLa Puente, or The Bridge in English,understand that for most people, a good job is a pathway out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency. The problem, he says, is that many of the able-bodied people targeted by the new restrictions are not workforce ready. They might have struggled with homelessness, substance abuse or mental disorders that make it hard for them to hold down a job without extra help.

Lack of reliable transportation is also a factor. For people who live in areas with heavily seasonal work, its an especially tricky equation to solve, he said.

To motivate someone to do something they cant possibly do is going to misfire, Cheslock says.

The cuts have been slammed by Democraticlegislators at every level.

Last year, Massachusettsstate Rep. Natalie Higgins, 31, challenged herself to feed both her and her fianc for five days using only food stamp benefits that worked out to just$45.She knew it would be hard. She didnt realize how hard and she had access to her own kitchen, a reliable car and even a pressure cooker, which meant she could buy inexpensive dried beans instead of more costly canned ones.

I really wanted to show I understood how inadequate these benefits are, says Higgins, a Democrat who represents Leominster, a city of about 42,000 that had an unemployment rate of nearly 5% at the start of 2018. Leominster, about 45 miles west of Boston, has a poverty rate of 13.3% and a per capita income of just $32,000.

For many folks, SNAP doesnt even come close to getting them to the end of the month, she says.

Higgins and her fianc ate lots of rice and beans during their food stamp challenge, supplemented with frozen veggies, oatmeal and peanut butter. Fresh fruits and vegetables were out of their price range. After only a few days, she developed a nagging headache and felt run-down physical symptoms of a poor diet that also caused her to lose four pounds.

When youre making minimum wage and housing costs keep going up and up and up, you just cannot make ends meet, Higgins says. I still cant wrap my head around how cruel we can be as a country to take away this food assistance.

Clutching a pink ticket signaling he's eligible, a man waits to collect his allocation from a Food Bank of the Rockies distribution in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 19.(Photo: Trevor Hughes, Trevor Hughes-USA TODAY NETWORK)

That the news ofimpending cuts came around the holidays seems especially callous to some.

This is a terrible time to be poor, says Leibman, who leads MAZON. To double down on their loss by saying, And soon were gonna take food away from you, thats a terrible thing to communicate to human beings. I just think America is better than that.

AJay Scipio,51, is the program manager of the Northeast Food Emergency Program in Northeast Portland, a large food pantry that in 2018served more than 11,000 families. Scipio took the job a year ago andworried at first that she didnt have the emotional bandwidth for it. The need in the area is both overwhelming and heartbreaking: In one recent three-month span, the program served 8,700 individuals.

She'sterrified to think of the future. Thursday afternoon, she announced new rules at the Northeast Food Emergency Program: Starting in January, clients can only come twice a month to shop the pantry. Previously, theyd had unlimited access.

Scipio rolls her eyes at the Trumps administrations claim of a thriving economy: The economy might be booming for some people, she says, but it is not booming for immigrant families or low-income families. This booming economy has not made its way to the margins.

A'Jay Scipio, the program manager of the Northeast Food Emergency Program in Portland, Oregon, walks through the food pantry in mid-December as she helps clients look for special Christmas treats. "This is not a poor people problem," Scipio says of the estimated 700,000 people who could lose their SNAP benefits in the spring. "There are hard-working people, middle-class people, people with good jobs, who are hungry every day."(Photo: Lindsay Schnell, Trevor Hughes-USA TODAY NETWORK)

But even with that caveat, Scipio argues, this is an issue that affects everyday Americans.

"This is not a poor people problem, she says. There are hard-working people, middle-class people, people with good jobs, who are hungry every day.

Tess Robertson and Chris DeFrance have been shopping at the Northeast Food Emergency Program for a little over a year. They only take non-perishable food, because theyre currently living in their 98 Toyota Camry. Milk and frozen meat are out of the question, which means they have to make more trips to the store, buying in smaller quantities, which uses up their food stamp allotment faster. They dont have access to a kitchen and regularly find themselves eating inside corner convenience stores.

Robertson, 28, recentlygot a job sorting mail at a local Amazon plant, but its only part-time and pays just $15.10 an hour. She says she applied to dozens of jobsand was turned down for all of them. Shes trying to get bumped up to full-timeat Amazon. Shes worried it wont happen before the SNAP cuts kick in.

DeFrance, 36, is technically able-bodied, too, but says hes still recovering from an injury suffered at his previous job fixing cars. A few months ago, DeFrance says he was stabbed by a drug addict while working on a car. He hasnt been able to find steady work since because the PTSD is horrible.To help himreacclimate to being around groups of strangers, he, along withRobertson, started volunteering at the pantry.

A heroin addict whos been in recovery for three years, DeFrance tries not to think about the spring, when he and Robertsons lives could get even more challenging.

I try not to think about the future too much because thinking about that stuff makes you stressed. And when youre an addict and youre stressed, you can relapse, he says.

Right now its just about survival.

Resharde Law collects food for his family at a Food Bank of the Rockies distribution in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 19. Law, who works as a mover, wore a Santa hat in an effort to spread cheer during the distribution.(Photo: Trevor Hughes, Trevor Hughes-USA TODAY NETWORK)

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'A terrible time to be poor': Cuts to SNAP benefits will hit 700,000 food-insecure Americans - USA TODAY

Madonna is a global superstar and has achieved some truly incredible things during the course of her long career. She rose to fame in the eighties and in the decades since she has managed to maintain fan interest on a level that very few artists manage to achieve.

Madonna has also been very controversial on occasion, with some of her projects and stagewear raising eyebrows. These days, Madonna continues to tour the world, even at an age when most artists would have retired.

Still, there have been some indications that Madonna is tiring of the road, especially when it comes to some of the more bizarre health rituals she has been undergoing lately. Read on to learn about Madonnas career, her intense diet and exercise routine, and what her outrageous health treatments are.

Born in 1958, Madonna is widely known as the Queen of Pop. She is responsible for songs such as Like a Virgin, Vogue, Like a Prayer, and 4 Minutes.

Madonna first gained attention in the 1980s, when she appeared on stage in outfits that would utilize elements from the Catholic faith, such as rosaries. She has also acted in a number of films, including Desperately Seeking Susan, Evita, and A League of Their Own.

While Madonna has received her fair share of critics due to her over-the-top stage persona and willingness to talk and sing about sex, she has also been a major contributor to charities all around the world. She has six children, including two biological children and four that she has adopted in recent years.

Madonna is one of the few celebrities who has steadfastly maintained her image in the new decade. And although she has experimented with a wide variety of musical styles, she is still true to her original, iconoclastic self.

At 61 years old, Madonnas stage performances defy her age. It doesnt come easy: Madonna works very hard for the super-fit figure that she is famous for.

The singer works out six days a week and does multiple different types of exercise, including Pilates, ballet, and circuit training. She has admitted that she likes to keep things interesting in the gym and that she thrives on shocking her body. Madonna is also a noted devotee of Ashtanga yoga, a branch of yoga that involves difficult body-balancing sequences.

As far as her diet, Madonna follows a very strict diet known as the macrobiotic eating plan. The diet includes beans, nuts, and a select few vegetables, including pumpkin, radishes, carrots, and broccoli. While she does eat fish, she doesnt eat red meat or dairy products. No doubt, this sort of strict plan doesnt work for everyone, but it has transformed her body into a lean machine.

Currently, Madonna is on her Madame X tour in support of her recently-released fourteenth album. The tour started in September 2019 and is set to conclude in March 2020.

While the shows have been very popular, there has been some controversy, including Madonnas decision to not allow cell phones during the performances. In addition, Madonna has recently canceled several of her concert dates due to illness.

Madonna has been open with her fans about the setbacks and recently shared some Instagram photos of herself undergoing a bizarre medical treatment: autohemotherapy, which mixes the patients blood with ozone gas and is then pumped back into the patients body. While Madonna claimed that she felt amazing after the treatment, fans are wondering if all the medical attention she has been receiving is a sign that the 61-year old singer is ready to take things slower.

While Madonna has announced no plans of retirement and has notoriously stated that shell stop playing music when the critics kill her, it could be time for her to start taking a step back.

See more here:
Madonna: Is This Bizarre Treatment a Sign the Singer May Need to Retire Soon? - Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Share on PinterestExperts say a change in lifestyle is probably more effective than any specific diet. Getty Images

Every year, millions of people turn to the internet to research the latest diet trends.

Google has released its top trending diets of 2019 and while experts say some of them may be helpful, others are not worth the effort.

Heres how the experts weighed in on five of the top diet searches for this past year.

As the name implies, this diet limits intake to 1,200 calories a day.

The Dietary Guidelines for the United States recommend a calorie intake of between 1,600 to 2,400 each day for adult women and 2,000 to 3,000 calories every day for men.

Lauri Y. Wright, PhD, an assistant professor in public health at the University of North Florida, says for those wanting to lose weight, cutting calories is important.

Creating a calorie deficit is the key to losing weight. The body then draws on stored fat for the necessary energy needed by the body, which is seen as weight loss, she told Healthline. We caution about diets that are too restrictive because very low calorie diets can slow your metabolism permanently. Too low is generally thought of as below 1,200 calories for women and 1,500 calories for men.

Its important that those restricting calories still achieve their nutrient needs.

The diet needs to include all the essential nutrients for health, Wright said. The lower the calories, the tougher it can be to get all the protein, vitamins, and minerals necessary. We always recommend working with a registered dietitian that can plan the most healthful eating plans to meet your health goals.

Dana Hunnes, PhD, a senior dietitian at the University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, says unless a person has low calorie needs or is under the direct guidance of a medical professional, cutting calories to 1,200 a day is not sustainable in the long term.

This would definitely be considered more of a crash diet as opposed to a long-term lifestyle solution and I do not recommend it, she told Healthline. It is better to lose weight gradually over time and in a manner that is sustainable over the life time this is not that type of dietary plan and it is not enough. It would likely make your own metabolism slow down since it would not be enough calories.

One of the top diet search terms for 2019 was intermittent fasting.

In the most basic terms, there are two main versions; time restricted eating (TRE), which is eating during only an 8-hour or 10-hour period or a 5:2 approach where women eat only 500 calories split between two meals, two times a week. Men get 600, said Kristin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian and manager of wellness nutrition services at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute in Ohio.

The benefits are expansive, including longer life, weight loss, and chronic disease risk reduction, she told Healthline.

Hunnes says other possible positives to intermittent fasting include benefits to the gastro-intestinal system by giving it time to rest and lowering inflammation throughout the body.

But fasting isnt appropriate for everyone.

Intermittent fasting is not a good plan for pregnant women or those with certain health conditions such as diabetes, Wright said. Additionally, one study found that intermittent fasting can harm heart health. Additionally, after losing weight with intermittent fasting, the body may gain back the weight more quickly because the body viewed fasting as starvation.

Earlier this year, singer Jennifer Lopez announced she was attempting a 10-day challenge of no carbohydrates and no sugar.

Days into her diet, Lopez encouraged her followers to join her.

However, experts say some carbs are necessary.

Our brains depend on glucose derived from carbohydrates for healthy functioning as do our muscles, said Hunnes. This type of diet is not healthy. Of course, limiting or avoiding sugar is healthy, but limiting all carbohydrates is not.

Wright agrees.

Carbohydrates are critical for health. However, the problem for many people is the type and amount of carbohydrates consumed. Emphasizing complex carbohydrates such as whole grain pastas, rice, beans, vegetables, and fruit rather than simple sugars such as soda and candy is crucial, she said.

Besides energy to fuel the body, carbohydrates also provide important vitamins, minerals, and fiber, Wright added. Carbohydrates are essential and should not be eliminated from the diet. Rather, choose healthy carbohydrates and control the portions. Excessive carbohydrates can add unwanted calories and cause high blood sugars for diabetics.

Wright suggests an appropriate carbohydrate portion would be half to one cup of pasta rather than an entire plate or one-third to two-thirds of a cup of rice rather than a whole bowl.

Last year, the high fat, low carb keto diet topped Googles trending diet searches.

This year, a variation of the diet called keto ultra, which includes supplements, made the top 10 most searched diets.

The ketogenic diet is very low in carbohydrates and very high in fat, putting the body into ketosis the burning of fat instead of glucose for fuel, Wright said. The keto diet has been shown to reduce weight because with any diet that restricts entire food groups, its possible that reduced dietary variety leads to reduced calorie intake. A side effect of ketosis is decreased hunger, which also contributes to weight loss.

But the diet comes with risks.

Because carbohydrate-containing foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans are eliminated, a ketogenic diet can contribute to certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies and may negatively impact gut health, Wright said. People following a ketogenic diet have also been shown to lose muscle mass, which is especially problematic for older adults.

Hunnes argues a keto-based diet is not healthy.

I do not think this is a healthy choice since evolutionarily speaking, we thrive on glucose as our major energy source. A high-fat, high-protein diet is not healthy for us at all. I, in as strong of terms as possible, do not recommend a ketogenic diet, she said.

Both Wright and Hunnes note that the only people who could truly benefit from a keto-based diet are children who experience seizures and follow the diet under medical recommendations from their doctor.

The ketogenic diet has been shown to successfully treat severe epilepsy in infants and children under medical supervision, Wright said.

A diet popularized for its inclusion of dark chocolate and red wine was highly searched for in 2019.

The creators behind the sirtfood diet argue that sirtfoods can prevent disease and result in fat loss by activating a skinny gene.

The sirtfood diet includes foods that contain seven proteins shown to decrease inflammation. Sirtfoods include red wine, dark chocolate, kale, berries, and soy, Wright said.

Some of the other sirtfoods encouraged in this diet include strawberries, onions, blueberries, walnuts, coffee, and medjool dates.

But although the creators of the diet say eating such foods will activate a skinny gene, experts say there is no proof to back the claims.

There is no evidence that the sirtfoods can turn on a skinny gene. The anti-inflammatory foods combined with calorie restrictions are more of the factors contributing to weight loss, Wright said.

Hunnes agrees.

Anything that sounds too good to be true often is, she said.

As 2019 draws to a close and people begin making goals and resolutions for the new year, all of the experts who spoke with Healthline advise focusing on making sustainable lifestyle changes, rather than following extreme diets.

Start before New Years. Dont make that date an artificial time to start good habits and be aware that the best diet for you is the diet that you can stay on long term, Kirkpatrick said.

Get away from the term diet and think of a lifestyle change that will support sustained success, Wright said. Look at making small changes that will add up to a big impact. Look to something like the Mediterranean diet plan that is plant-forward with vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and lean fish and meats, and uses healthful fats. Combined with activity, this is a plan that you can live with and achieve your health goals.

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From Sirtfood to Keto Ultra, What Experts Think of 2019 Top Diets - Healthline

Moonlynn Tsai and her fish at the Essex Market. Photo: Christian Rodriguez

This has been a really good year for Kopitiam, Kyo Pang and Moonlynn Tsais Malasyian-Chinese restaurant thats a favorite of Chinatown crowds and critics alike. It nabbed a critics pick from the New York Times Pete Wells, who calls the food almost unfailingly terrific; a spot on Bon Apptits list of this years best new restaurants; and a James Beard semifinalist nod for chef Pang. Tsai moved to New York specifically to partner with Pang, and she has carved out a space for herself in the short time shes lived here: almost daily visits to the Essex Market, getting her natto fix with NYrture New York Natto, and finding a regular easy-dinner spot in Wus Wonton King. Read all about it in this weeks Grub Street Diet.

Friday, December 13Had both of my legs in stirrups in the OB-GYN office for my yearly Pap when my phone started buzzing and I got the call: The Department of Health was at Kopitiam examining every nook and cranny for over two and a half hours, which is more often than not with the goal of finding anything to dock points for. Happy Friday the 13th!

Stressed and hangry, even though it was only 11 a.m., I decided to catch the LIRR to have a Long Island workday with my girlfriend, Yin.

I dont believe in work-life balance, but I believe in a healthy work-life integration. Being in an industry that is on all the time, with no downtime, its important to do little things to keep my mental health in check. You could most definitely say traveling has always been my happy place. In more recent years, my girlfriend and I backpacked around Southeast Asia for three months and made the cross-country road-trip move from California to New York to get ready for Kopitiam. The #startuplife usually doesnt allow for weeks-long vacay, so getting creative in discovering my day-to-day happy place is imperative to keep the fire burning long-term even if it means working in a different part of town or heading out of the city for a few hours or taking a quick break at my new favorite neighborhood bakery, Party Bus Bakeshop.

Yin picked me up. When we got to her family home, we split lunch duties with her younger sister, Melora, and her boyfriend, Coco. We cooked:

1. Pomegranate mixed-greens salad2. Roasted broccoli with garlic3. Watercress-garlic chicken soup4. Roasted chicken with lemon, onions, and garlic

My other equally happy place is the kitchen. I love to cook and used to organize dinner-party pop-ups in my L.A. home. Because of how small our apartment is here, its difficult to host, but cooking with friends and family reminds me of those days.

Melora, knowing we were all hitting a lull around 5 p.m., pulled us shots of espresso on her Bialetti before I headed back to the city to make it in time for the dinner rush.

When I got home, I could smell braised soup. Growing up in an unstable household with a mentally and physically abusive father, I found what brought me comfort was my moms cooking, like her braised-oxtail soup. So when I opened the door and saw my mom, who was visiting from out of town, with a pot of the Meat Hooks oxtail braising in star anise, ginger, and soy (YESSSS), all the stresses of the day melted away.

Saturday, December 14Woke up before my 7:00 a.m. alarm clock and lay in bed scrolling through Kopitiams Instagram. We made a conscious decision not to hire a social-media manager or have a PR team, so I allocate two-to-three hours each day to catch up on Yelp, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.Reading Yelp reviews is like reading the news. You should to stay current, but sometimes its better to just skip it. This morning, I woke up reading a review from a guest complaining about our prices. Im always mind-boggled by this; the majority of our dishes are $5 to $10 with only five items exceeding that, topping out at $13.50.

I got up, pressed boil on my Cuisinart kettle, a gift from Melora that weve had for about four years. Since I was having brunch with Mom later at Golden Diner, breakfast consisted of vitamins and a cup of warm water with apple-cider vinegar from the Pineapple Collaborative, a food company focused on women-created pantry staples.

On weekends, I like to keep errands local so I can be at the shop for the rushes.

Mom met me at Kopitiam, and we walked over to Golden Diner together, thinking we would beat the line if we got there before opening. Wrong! It was already at least 15 deep, but we made it in! Saw Sam Yoo on the line and slapped a high five. I love this diner the vibrant, bright dcor, the homage to what the Lower East Side once was. The playlist in itself is magic: I caught bits of Ali Baba, by Louie Ramirez, and J.D. Natashas Plastico!

By the time the food arrived, I had already drunk three cups of coffee, black (with unlimited refills in true diner fashion). Yogurt and homemade granola came out first, followed by an entourage of matzo-ball soup (we both popped our matzo cherry!), Chinatown egg-and-cheese sando, and the fluffiest honey-butter pancakes with berries. Golden Diner NAILED IT.

Five pounds heavier, I went back to Kopitiam to get some work done before the lunch rush. After, I swung by 886 and picked up a bottle of Sze Daddy chili sauce from my friend, the chef and co-owner, Eric. I cant wait to use it for a chili-oil braised chicken Im making later this week Ive never made it before.

My 1:30 meeting in Soho dragged till 3:30, and I was starving and craving a shish kebab and rice. I remembered passing by a Mamouns on my way. Ive only been to the one in the East Village and loooove its shish-kebab plate. We braved the throngs of drunken Santas in line, but unfortunately what we ended up getting was a plate of wet, chopped lettuce with diced tomatoes topped with dry, tough lamb. Noted: Will stick to Mamouns in the East Village.

Mom had to use the restroom before she headed off to Brooklyn but didnt want to walk up three flights of stairs at my apartment (bad knees), so we went to Essex Market, which has nice (clean) bathrooms downstairs. Saw Nigel at the Hello Moon Man stand, and he gave us both a tasting of his newest dessert: cassava coconut jelly with shaved coconut and rose petals. Around the corner, Four Sigmatic was offering free cups of its products, and we each opted for a Shroom coffee. Shroom coffee + cassava jelly = a match I never knew I needed in my life.

Simi and Paul of Adirondack Creamery ice creams came over to Kopitiam with five pints for our team holiday party. Yin first discovered them and surprised me with a pint of their Whiteface Mint Chip. The rest was history.

Got home and ate the other half of my breakfast egg-and-cheese sando from Golden Diner, cut a pomelo, and snacked on boiled Italian chestnuts from Trader Joes.

Caught up on work and remembered Jenny from Fly by Jing mentioning when I saw her at the Pineapple Collective product launch that she did an ice-cream pop-up with OddFellows where they put their chili crisp on top of ice cream. Hmm. I had thefive pints in my freezer, so I scooped a bit of each flavor and topped it off with crisps. It was a tie between the Syrian Walnut and Vanilla! Epic solo Saturday night.

Sunday, December 151:00 a.m., couldnt sleep, browsing the Insta. Saw that a popular Peruvian restaurant had just opened up for brunch. Booked a reservation with Mom.

Was up all night running through the logistics of multiple events, the big one being the team holiday dinner on Wednesday that Im cooking for. The majority of the Kopitiam team didnt get to grow up celebrating Christmas, and I wanted to share the joy and memories from those experiences with them.

Christmas was one of my favorite holidays growing up, even though I wasnt raised Christian (though maybe I absorbed the Christmas spirit during my time at Catholic school!). As I got older and into my early 20s and realized my family didnt have the kind of healthy, warm dynamic I craved, Id celebrate the holidays with 20 or so of my friends instead at a Lake Arrowhead cabin. There was a 16-pound rib-eye and all the fixings one year and endless amounts of alcohol; we had a keg set up out in the snow for those brave enough to go outside. But my body cant keep up with that anymore. Now its all about how to have the most sleep and quality time with loved ones.

Started the day early, drank water with apple-cider vinegar, and made a bowl of granola, pomegranate, chia, a spoonful of nut butter, and Meyenberg goat milk. Had some extra time, so I sat and meditated for a bit with a cup of green tea Yin got from Sunrise Mart.

Were tea fiends. Three years ago, after I left Pine & Crane, I was getting really into the study of oolong teas and took a weeklong, intensive tea class in Taiwan. We went to different tea-making regions (my favorite being Sun Moon Lake) and learned the process of tea-making. I have so much admiration for tea-makers; its at least a 20-hour process per batch. The first batch I tried to make from scratch I was up 16 hours and couldnt stay awake for the remaining ones, so the tea farmers ended up finishing the process for me.

Was really excited for brunch with Mom. I usually prefer cooking at home to going out and very rarely, if ever, eat at higher-end restaurants anymore. The magic that used to engulf me when I was younger doesnt leave me with that fulfillment after being in the industry so long. When I do go out, its usually to go and support friends or local mom-and-pop shops, when I have friends or family visiting, or to welcome new neighborhood shops. That start-up life can get lonely! I always look forward to making new friends. The last fine dining I really enjoyed was at Haenyeo the way Jenny Kwak infuses her story into each dish with flawless execution, the teams outstanding service, the whole experience there was magical. All that to say how excited I was for brunch with Mom.

Arrived at the brunch spot

An hour later, I thought Id have a lot to write about. But brunch ended up being $80 for two apps and a rice bowl (no drinks), and lets just say there were a lot of probllamas, pun intended.

Did some touristy things afterward: walked up to Grand Central Station, checked out the NYPL (nipple!), and attempted to wander around the Bryant Park holiday pop-up shops, but there were way too many people. Decided to slowly walk back to the LES.

Got tired and found ourselves in K-Town craving something soupy, settled on Cho Dang Gol. We skipped the homemade tofu theyre known for and opted for the the bulgogi stew and mini bossam. Our dishes were so comforting, and the Korean grandmas working there made it feel like home and a welcome break from the cold.

Didnt get enough veggies in. To counter that, I made a salad from baby arugula and rainbow-chard leaves I bought at Project EATS. Foraging and farms are my jam! When I lived in L.A., I would frequently take foraging classes in the mountains with author and master forager Pascal Baudar.

Monday, December 16Woke up feeling a bit under the weather. Ate a comforting breakfast of avocado and purple rice with NYrture NY natto Id picked up when I visited my friend Danny at Osakana in Williamsburg. I love that slimy goodness paired with a cup of green tea.

Set up shop, finished payroll at my favorite table by 9:30 a.m., overheard two guests chatting at the table next to me about how much they loved the kaya jam. I wrapped up paperwork and went over to chat with them and found out they were visiting from Vancouver. I get an absolute high when I meet genuinely kind and nice people at our shop and gifted them a bottle of our homemade kaya jam to bring back home to add to their good memories from this trip.

Feeling productive!

Got to Essex Market, where I go almost every day for seafood ingredients. One of my private cheffing clients is a pescatarian, so this is my reliable go-to spot for fresh fish. Picked a vibrant red snapper, rinsed and ungutted, from New Star. It started snowing. Being born and raised in San Diego, Im still amazed by how beautiful snow is and will never get over how snowflakes look like fluffy little clouds.

Came home and seasoned the red snapper, drizzled olive oil over chopped rainbow chard and broccoli, then placed everything on my baking tray and set the oven to 375 for 20 minutes. One of my favorite easy-peasy, 20-minute lunches. Made a ponzu sauce rendition to dip. (Mine was just yuzu and tamari a couple of years ago, I developed an allergy to gluten, and I try my best to avoid it when I can.)

I dont usually nap; I get really gnarly headaches most of the time, but today I couldnt focus on any work and forced one in. Woke up feeling a bit better. Got ready for the Last Supper Club pop-up that Chula Galvez was cheffing over at Abigails Kitchen in Greenwich Village. If youve never had any of Chulas food, youve got to get on that ASAP. Its as delicious as it is beautiful.

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Kopitiams Moonlynn Tsai Knows Where to Get the Good Natto - Grub Street

AUSTIN, Texas A mothers obesity in pregnancy can affect her childs development years down the road, according to researchers who found impaired motor skills in preschoolers and lower IQ in middle childhood for boys whose mothers were severely overweight while expecting them. A team of nutrition and environmental health researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and Columbia University found that the differences are comparable to the impact of lead exposure in early childhood.

The team studied 368 mothers and their children, all from similar economic circumstances and neighborhoods, during pregnancy and when the children were 3 and 7 years of age. At age 3, the researchers measured the childrens motor skills and found that maternal obesity during pregnancy was strongly associated with lower motor skills in boys. At age 7, they again measured the children and found that the boys whose mothers were overweight or obese in pregnancy had scores 5 or more points lower on full-scale IQ tests, compared with boys whose mothers had been at a normal weight.

No effect was found in the girls.

Whats striking is, even using different age-appropriate developmental assessments, we found these associations in both early and middle childhood, meaning these effects persist over time, said Elizabeth Widen, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at UT Austin. These findings arent meant to shame or scare anyone. We are just beginning to understand some of these interactions between mothers weight and the health of their babies.

It isnt clear why obesity in pregnancy would affect a child later, though previous research has found links between a mothers diet and cognitive development, such as higher IQ scores in kids whose mothers have more of certain fatty acids found in fish. Widen said that dietary and behavioral differences may be driving factors, or fetal development may be affected by some of the things that tend to happen in the bodies of people with too much extra weight, such as inflammation, metabolic stress, hormonal disruptions and high amounts of insulin and glucose.

The researchers controlled for several factors in their analysis, including race and ethnicity, marital status, the mothers education and IQ, as well as whether the children were born prematurely or exposed to environmental irritants such as air pollution. What the pregnant mothers ate or whether they breastfed were not included in the analysis.

The team also examined and accounted for the nurturing environment in a childs home in early childhood, looking at how parents interacted with their children and whether the child was provided with books and toys. A nurturing home environment was found to lessen the negative effects of obesity.

The effect on IQ was smaller in nurturing home environments, but it was still there, Widen said.

This is not the first study to find that boys appear to be more vulnerable in utero. A 2018 study found lower performance IQ in boys, but not girls, whose mothers were exposed to lead, and a 2019 study suggested boys whose moms had fluoride in pregnancy scored lower on an IQ assessment.

Because childhood IQ is a predictor of education level, socioeconomic status and professional success later in life, the researchers said there is potential for effects to last into adulthood.

Widen advised women who are obese or overweight when they become pregnant to eat a well-balanced diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, take a prenatal vitamin, stay active and make sure to get enough fatty acids such as the kind found in fish oil. Giving children a nurturing home environment also matters, as does seeing a doctor regularly, including during pregnancy to discuss weight gain.

Work with your doctor and talk about what is appropriate for your circumstances, Widen said.

The families involved in the research were participating in theurban birth cohort studyin New York City led by theColumbia Center for Childrens Environmental Health. The study on IQ at age 7 was published today in BMC Pediatrics with co-authors Amy Nichols and Sara Dube of UT Austin; Linda Kahn of New York University; and Pam Factor-Litvak, Beverly Insel, Lori Hoepner, Virginia Rauh, Frederica Perera and Andrew Rundle of Columbia University. The same team, absent Dube and Kahn, were involved in a paper about the children at age 3, published in September in the Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease.

Funding support for the research was provided by the Thrasher Research Fund, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Irving General Clinical Research Center, the Educational Foundation of America, the Neu Family Foundation, the New York Community Trust and the Trustees of the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund. Widen holds the Amy Johnson McLaughlin Administrative Chair in Human Ecology at The University of Texas at Austin.

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Obesity in Pregnant Moms Linked to Lag in Their Sons' Development and IQ - UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

So both of their families have reorganized their lives and spent thousands of dollars to enroll in intensive after-school brain training programs that offer the promise of permanent changes to the human mind.

The programs are part of a fast-growing industry thats based on the premise that targeted games and exercises can rewire the brain to boost memory, sharpen thinking or decrease the challenges associated with anxiety, autism, ADHD and other disorders. Brick-and-mortar training centers like Brain Balance Achievement Centers, which Izak attends, and LearningRx, Kyles program, are just one piece of a $2 billion global brain technology market that is increasingly going around the medical industry and marketing directly to consumers.

But the premise behind the programs has faced significant criticism from doctors and scientists who warn that some are making dubious claims. These personalized programs can cost $12,000 or more for six months of training, three days a week. Families have gone into debt or turned to crowdfunding sites to pay for them.

Theyre selling hope, said Eric Rossen, the director of professional development and standards for the National Association of School Psychologists. These organizations are not necessarily predatory, but they are definitely there and almost chasing the parents who are desperate, who are overwhelmed and who feel that they have no recourse.

As the number of children diagnosed with ADHD and autism surges in the U.S., according to federal data, and as parents become exasperated with treatments that dont work or involve medications that carry the risk of side effects, neurotechnology industry analysts predict the demand for programs like these will only grow.

NBC News spoke with more than a dozen scientists and experts who said that while theres promise in some forms of brain training, the field is so new that many companies are making claims that go far beyond what they can prove.

That hasnt stopped families from enrolling. NBCNews spoke to 22 parents of children who enrolled in Brain Balance or LearningRx, two of the largest one-on-one training programs, and many described positive results.

LearningRx makes you use your brain in a different way than you do in school, said Kyles mother, Alana Gregory, who says her son is focusing better and is less likely to hit other children than he was before he started the program in August. Its giving him skills to help when he is frustrated. And when he's not as frustrated, we don't have behavior issues.

But other parents say theyve seen only minor improvements if any despite months of hard work and high bills.

The whole thing is a hoax, said Atheer Sabti, who took out a $12,500 loan in 2017 to pay for a six-month Brain Balance program in Plano, Texas, to help his then 12-year-old son, who was getting into trouble and struggling to focus in school.

They took my money, Sabti said, and my son was the same.

Much of the growth in brain training is in apps and games that people use at home or in school, said Alvaro Fernandez, CEO of SharpBrains, a research firm that tracks the neurotechnology industry. The global market for direct-to-consumer technology grew from $475 million in 2012 to $1.9 billion last year, Fernandez said.

Those numbers dont include franchises like Brain Balance or LearningRX, which Fernandez says are more difficult to track financially. But these centers are now in most major U.S. cities. Brain Balance has 108 locations and said it brought in $51.3 million last year. LearningRx has 70 centers in the U.S. as well as 85 centers called BrainRx around the globe. The company declined to provide revenue numbers but says it hopes to add eight U.S. centers and 20 international centers next year.

Other companies include Neurocore Brain Performance Centers, which made headlines in 2017 when U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos disclosed that she and her husband are major shareholders.

Groups that advocate for people with autism and ADHD, including Autism Speaks and Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or CHADD, warn parents to be wary of companies like these that claim to address a long list of disorders without much scientific proof.

We want science to drive treatment and intervention, not just anecdotes, said Max Wiznitzer, a pediatric neurologist in Cleveland and the co-chair of CHADDs professional advisory board.

Brain training companies are careful to comply with federal advertising laws, avoiding phrases like treat or cure. But some companies have run into trouble. LearningRx paid $200,000 in 2016 to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission about deceptive claims.

LearningRx maintained that the FTC had unfairly applied medical standards to an educational company, but decided that fighting in court would have been too expensive.

Neurocore, a program that blends diet, exercise, clinical talk therapy and an intervention called neurofeedback that involves attaching electrodes to peoples heads, last year agreed to alter its marketing when an advertising review board objected to ads promoting cures for a host of disorders. But just last month, Neurocore was the subject of a complaintfiled with the FTC by the ad watchdog Truth in Advertising.

Theyve continued to market in a really inappropriate way, said Bonnie Patten, Truth in Advertisings executive director. Theyre marketing unapproved medical devices as being able to treat ailments such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, migraines and memory loss when there's no reliable scientific evidence.

Neurocore CEO Mark Murrison points to research showing that neurofeedback works, though scientists say it has not been fully proven. He says Pattens organization has never reached out to him and he doesnt believe she understands his program.

His company has encountered skeptics, but thats to be expected when you offer an alternative to the status quo, he said.

The FTC declined to comment.

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Brain Balance centers are colorful, cheerfully decorated places, often located in shopping centers in affluent neighborhoods. They each have a cognitive room where students play video games that target memory or brain function and a sensory motor room filled with mats, balance beams and monkey bars.

On a recent afternoon at the Brain Balance in Oxford, about 40 miles north of Detroit, classical music played softly as coaches guided students through exercises designed to stimulate the left or the right side of their brains.

The Brain Balance program is demanding, calling on families to reduce childrens screen time and to cut most sugar, gluten and dairy from their diets. But what has raised eyebrows among mainstream scientists are some unproven theories that drive the one-on-one training.

One of those theories is the popular notion that the right and left side of the brain have different influences on personality. Brain Balance claims that a right brain weakness can cause impulsivity and anxiety, while a left brain weakness can lead to poor math or reading skills. Thats why kids remove just one sock: Brain Balance believes that as a bare foot makes contact with the floor, the opposite side of the brain will get more stimulation. Metronomes and shakers are placed on the same side as the bare foot.

Another Brain Balance theory has to do with primitive infant reflexes, which are the instincts babies are born with to help them survive. The rooting reflex, for example, supports nursing by leading babies to turn toward objects that touch their cheeks. The moro reflex, which likely evolved to help infants cling to their mothers, causes babies to extend their arms and legs when startled.

Doctors say that most people outgrow these reflexes by the time they start preschool. Robert Melillo, a chiropractor and author who founded Brain Balance in 2006, asserted that children who retain reflexes face academic and behavioral struggles. Brain Balance tests children for eight primitive reflexes and has exercises that target each one. The one that targets the moro reflex has children stretch their arms and legs, then curl into a ball.

Other exercises, such as standing on one foot, target balance and coordination to promote connectivity in the brain, said Rebecca Jackson, Brain Balances vice president of programs and outreach. I always like to tell the kids that its kind of like a workout for your brain, she said. We all have strong muscles and weak muscles, and its the same thing with the brain.

George Anderson, a senior research scientist in the Child Study Center at Yale University, is doubtful of this approach. He is among several university-affiliated experts and medical professionals who reviewed the research on the companys website and saw little proof to support the programs theories.

There is evidence that people with neurological issues like ADHD and autism are, in fact, more likely to retain primitive reflexes than their peers, Anderson said. But that doesnt mean that the Brain Balance exercises can eliminate retained reflexes, or that eliminating those reflexes would permanently reduce challenging behaviors.

There's just a lack of foundation for what theyre doing, he said. There are things that they really need to show, and Im surprised theyre in business and have 100 centers if they havent shown that. Actually, I'm not surprised theyre in business if they can get $12,000 for doing this. Its a way to make money. Im surprised they dont view this as unethical.

Daniel Simons, a University of Illinois psychology professor who has scrutinized 130 papers cited by brain training programs, said there is zero evidence to support the Brain Balance theory about problems being caused by a weakness on one side of the brain. This is pseudoscience at best, he said.

Brain Balance CEO Dominick Fedele says science supports the programs components, including the benefits of exercise for the brain. But he acknowledged that the company had not, until recently, attempted a comprehensive study comparing lasting outcomes for children who came through the program to a control group that did not. The company is now helping to fund such a study by a Harvard researcher.

We know there are skeptics out there and we suspect there will continue to be, but we want to be able to show that this is a program that truly makes a difference, Fedele said.

The company rejected the notion that selling an intervention that hasnt been fully proven is unethical. Many families report positive results and the activities arent harmful, said Jackson, the Brain Balance vice president.

Asked about downsides, Jackson replied, the downside is there is cost or time and money involved.

Melillo, who sold most of his stake in the company to a private equity firm several years ago, told NBC News that he honed the program over 10 years of working with children before he started charging for it.

The idea that we always have to wait to make sure we have absolute proof makes no sense, he said. The only way you know it works is by using it.

Parents who say the program doesnt work resent the thousands of dollars they spent to test it out.

Srikanth Mamidi was so angry about not seeing lasting benefits for his autistic son after six months in a Brain Balance program in Cary, North Carolina, that he tracked Melillo down at a ribbon cutting for another center and confronted him.

It was a time waster, an energy waster and a money waster, Mamidi said.

The program had seemed wacky to him, but he and his wife were determined to avoid giving medication to their son, who was 11 at the time and was struggling to make friends and pay attention in class, he said. They were hopeful when they paid $10,000 for the program and committed to driving 40 minutes each way for the training sessions.

But Mamidi said the small changes they saw in the beginning, such as a slight improvement in their sons ability to communicate, faded quickly.

When Mamidi confronted Melillo in 2016, the company founder just walked away, Mamidi said. They are interested in making money rather than improving peoples lives, he said.

Melillo said he did not recall the confrontation but notes that Mamidi is just one disgruntled parent among thousands who swear by the results.

Most Brain Balance reviews posted on Google and Yelp are glowing. Many franchise owners, including the couple who own the Oxford center, are former clients who tell moving stories about the relief they felt when they walked through the door after an overwhelming quest to help their children.

Izaks mom, Patty Lopez, says her son is a different child than he was when he started Brain Balance last spring. Back then, he was prone to daily tantrums that would last for an hour or more. When he was briefly in kindergarten last year, he trashed the classroom so many times that a teacher described him as the worst student that she had ever had in 18 years, Lopez said.

The family has made sacrifices to adopt the programs strict dietary and screen-time guidelines and make the hourlong drive to trainings. But its all been worth it, she said.

After seven months of Brain Balance, Lopez said Izak is doing well in school and now rarely has meltdowns, and she and her husband have been able to avoid giving him the medication that doctors wanted to prescribe. Its a huge change, she said. Its more relaxed. We can play. We can have conversations with him now.

Why do some families see benefits from brain training programs while others dont?

Experts say there could be lots of reasons all interventions, including medicine, affect children differently. Also, parents spending large sums of money can fuel the placebo effect, the belief that a treatment is working even if its not.

Children in the Brain Balance program are doing regular exercise and eating better than they may have been before, which can lead to better sleep. Many spend less time watching TV or staring at a phone. Theyre getting lots of personal attention from Brain Balances coaches. And theyre developing and maturing.

At the end of the year, they're better and many times they would have gotten better on their own, said Rossen, of the National Association of School Psychologists.

Many variables affect childrens lives new teachers, new schools, new milestones. It can be difficult to know what accounts for behavioral changes.

Ben Forbush, 19, a freshman at Michigan State University, said Brain Balance helped him with depression and anxiety when he enrolled as a high school senior.

He started eating breakfast and getting more exercise. He significantly curtailed the time he spent on his phone, and slept much better.

It might have been that the program enabled me to take care of myself a lot more than I had before, he said. Ill never know which aspect it was. Theres a chance it could have been any of them. If it works, it works. It definitely helped me a lot.

Crystal Hoshaw, a California mother, believes Brain Balance helped her son Noah, 7, with reducing repetitive behaviors related to autism and anxiety, such as sucking on his hands, that had been exacerbated by his parents separation and a move to a new home.

She credits Brain Balance with Noahs improvements because his tics were related to the nervous system, which the program targets. Noah also may have benefited from the extra time he and his mother spent together during the 45-minute drive to Brain Balance in San Francisco. The two stopped for burgers in what became little special dates, she said. To Hoshaw, the exact source of Noahs progress matters less than the results.

It doesn't have to be a hard line a good or a bad or a magic bullet or snake oil. It doesnt have to be so polarized, she said. It can just be one part of a holistic, well-rounded approach to helping a kid.

The LearningRX training center in Colorado Springs buzzed with activity on a recent afternoon as seven students and their trainers worked together at small tables. The noise level is intentionally loud to train clients to tune out distractions.

One child bounced on a mini-trampoline as she tried to recall all 45 U.S. presidents. Another child tossed a ball with his trainer as they took turns reciting the alphabet in time with a metronome, an exercise designed to help him multitask.

Many of LearningRxs brain games are similar to exercises that psychologists use to conduct IQ tests, including recalling numbers or shapes. Theyre given easy tasks to start and are rewarded with high fives from their coaches and points they can save up to buy prizes. When they can recite all of the presidents, their picture is posted on the wall.

LearningRX, which was founded in 2003 by an optometrist, initially as a vision therapy program, says it has always done research to show that the program can, for example, help the 29 percent of clients who have ADHD. The company has made a greater effort to publish that research since the FTC charges.

In the past three years, the company has published 11 peer-reviewed studies, said Amy Moore, an educational psychologist and research director of the LearningRxs research arm, the Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research. Among them is a small clinical trial published in a neuropsychiatry journal that found statistically significant improvements in a group of seven clients who had ADHD compared to a control group of six people with ADHD who did not attend LearningRx.

Prove is not in our language, but we have a convergence of evidence that shows that the program changes test results, Moore said. It changes connectivity in the brain and it changes real life.

But questions persist.

I would want a lot more evidence, said Thomas Redick, a psychology professor at Purdue University who has reviewed hundreds of brain training studies. He was among several experts who spoke with NBC News who noted that the peer-reviewed controlled trials and other studies touted on LearningRxs website were fairly small or lacked methodological rigor, such as measures to control for the placebo effect.

Redick added that he doesnt doubt that LearningRx clients do better on IQ tests after months of training, but he questioned whether the benefits translate to other settings. He is skeptical of LearningRxs claims that its clients have improved at school.

You can learn mnemonic strategies that are effective but that only works for those materials, he said. Its not changing whether or not you have ADHD.

Still, Alana Gregory, Kyles mom, said LearningRx has built confidence in her son, which has improved his behavior.

There is no magic pill, she said, but you have to find out what works for your individual child and go with it.

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Parents pay thousands for 'brain training' to help kids with ADHD and autism. But does it work? - NBCNews.com

So when representatives for the new TB12 Performance & Recovery Center in the Back Bay invited the Globe to try a workout similar to the one the Patriots quarterback himself does, there was no way we could refuse.

And that is how, at the crack of dawn on a snowy Tuesday morning, I found myself beside several local fitness bloggers and industry pros, diving glute-first into the off-field workout that TB12 himself espouses.

If you follow Brady at all, you probably are already familiar with the term pliability, which focuses on elongating and softening muscles. Brady credits his pliability workouts as the reason he can still lead New England to Super Bowl victory in his 40s.

Pliability, man, Brady told reporters in October when asked how he avoids injury. Thats what I work on every day.

This seems like a good time to note that the workouts Brady touts were developed with his trainer and TB12 cofounder, Alex Guerrero, whose name has been mired in controversy. Guerrero has faced sanctions by federal regulators for falsely presenting himself as a medical doctor and deceptively promoting nutritional supplements, according to government documents, and has been at the center of a rift within the Patriots organization.

In the TB12 building on Boylston Street, however, Guerreros name is recited with reverence, not skepticism. The trainers and nutritionists who work in the facility all seem to whole-heartedly embrace the basic tenets of the TB12 Method, and praise the benefits of pliability, multi-planar workouts, and a plant-heavy diet.

With football workouts, I feel better at 36 than I did at 21, said class instructor Rob Velasquez, who has a background in teaching college football. Its just how my body is moving with these guys.

Still, I was apprehensive about what I was getting myself into. How exactly does a pliable workout translate in practice for the masses, anyway?

The answer: A lot of resistance bands, very little weight training, and vibrating foam rollers to loosen muscles.

Theres a huge focus on foam rolling before and after, since thats where we develop pliable tissue, said Matt Denning, a TB12 body coach. He also touted functional, dynamic moves that activate core muscles, as well as using resistance bands to help prevent overloading tissue and joints.

Upon entering the dimly-lit room lined with mirrors and words like Drive and Commitment," we headed to our individual stations, which consisted of a tangle of resistance bands attached to a wall-mounted pole.

At the start of class, instructor Rob urged against performing the usual static stretches touching fingers to toes, stretching out quads without any cardio warmup beforehand.

And that is when he broke out the bright orange vibrating foam rollers.

My first thought when I saw the foam rollers: Oh no. No, no no. As a runner, Ill be the first to admit that I should probably be foam rolling more, since it helps relieve muscle soreness. Ill also be the first to admit that I hate it: I look like a dying fish flopping around, and the pressure and discomfort makes a visit to the dentist seem enjoyable by comparison.

But after a few minutes of rolling out our calves, hamstrings, and glutes on those bad boys (which shake harder than a Chihuahua left out in the cold), I found myself pleasantly surprised thrilled, even with the results. My legs felt looser; almost as if I had gotten a deep-tissue massage. The soreness from a recent six-mile run all but evaporated.

Maybe I should buy one of these, I found myself thinking as we put them aside. (Thats before I saw the price tag: A whopping $160.)

Thats when Velasquez turned up the music think Vegas nightclub meets tribal ceremony and told us to step into one of the resistance bands tethered to the wall. With the band as our cage, we did squats; we did lunges; we ran backwards until we couldnt anymore. We also used bands with handles on the end, yanking them down from the top of the pole to our sides, and bringing them up rapid-fire for bicep curls.

Finish like the badasses that you are! Rob the instructor screamed as we slammed medicine balls into the floor, or used foot gliders to execute mountain gliders. (I responded by laying down a towel on the turf for my soft office-job hands.)

The hour-long session ended with more teeth-chattering foam rolling, much to my delight.

So what did I think overall? As a cardio junkie who gets easily bored with stretching and strength training, I was not expecting to like this class. But I came away with a newfound appreciation for the core beliefs that drive the high-intensity workout: helping take away joint pain while building strength; focusing on core and ab muscles; and safely deepening traditional bodyweight exercises. The point of pliability is to help people live an active lifestyle pain-free. And I really did feel like the tension of the resistance bands helped us execute traditional lunges and squats without suffering through the tight, sore feeling normally associated with weight training.

Lounging around in the gorgeous studio doesnt hurt, either. While the top floor houses the TB12 store and a smoothie bar, the basement level hosts the group fitness room, a personal training facility, and a spa-like locker room equipped with EO shower products, Living Proof hair sprays, and a small flatscreen TV.

The amenities dont come cheap, though. A single group class costs $30, although the studio also runs specials and class-package deals. One-on-one training sessions can run approximately $240 for 90 minutes, and a sit-down with a TB12 nutritionist runs about $150 per meeting. The TB12 Center is also on ClassPass, where it ranges from between six to 11 credits ($10 to $18 or so) per class.

So will the TB12 brand catch on? Leaders at the top of the company are planning on it: CEO John Burns last month spoke of plans to expand the number of retail outlets from two to four in 2020.

When asked about class sizes at Back Bay, Velasquez the instructor said they generally skew toward a more intimate size having five people in the room is good," he said but he also pointed out that the loyal following is growing.

My lunch classes have been very consistent in terms of seeing the same people, he said. And once January 1st hits, everyone wants to get fit.

Jaclyn Reiss can be reached at jaclyn.reiss@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter: @JaclynReiss

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We tried Tom Bradys TB12 workout. Heres what it was like - The Boston Globe

Ken Davis admits it; when he first heard about the Broadway road diet, heard that it would create more parking and better flow, he was optimistic, even enthusiastic about what it would mean for businesses on the street, including his coffeehouse, Hot Java.

When we first got word about it years ago during the Broadway corridor meetings, they talked about what they were going to do: create more parking spaces, even floated the idea of getting a bump-out for more seating. We were excited.

What he and his fellow shopkeepers got, he said, was the exact opposite. Less parking, less flow and such a drop in businessDavis says hes down 40%that many are wondering if theyll survive.

When they started lining [the street for the road diet] you could instantly see that this was not going to be what they talked about, Davis said. There was no parking for customers and no loading zone for my suppliers. Every day Id see a little more and think, what the hell is going on?

In an effort to make the street safer, Broadway underwent a road diet earlier this year thats resulted in fewer cars and slower traffic along the thoroughfare, something shopkeepers like Davis say is putting them out of business.The Measure A-funded East Broadway Corridor Project stretches from Alamitos to Redondo avenues and reduces the street to one lane in each direction with inner bike lanes between the curb and parked vehicles. About 30 parking spaces also were eliminated.

City officials estimate the cost for work done in the roughly 2-mile section was between $3 and $5 million. In the citys most recent traffic study, conducted this fall, westbound traffic volume decreased 30% and eastbound decreased 26% compared with the same time period in 2016. Westbound traffic speed for 85% of vehicles was reduced to 32 mph (from 35 mph in June 2017), and eastbound speed was reduced to 33 mph (from 36 mph). The speed limit is 30 mph.

Jennifer Carey, executive assistant for Public Works, said the new traffic volumes are more consistent with other residential-zoned areas and similar-sized streets in the city. The city has not provided updated collision statistics or a bicycle count for Broadway.

The primary goal was to improve safety, so make it safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles, Carey said. Part of that goal was to slow down vehicles along the corridor and reduce traffic volume We accomplished what we set out to do.

But Davis says the efforts to slow down vehicles really only redirected them somewhere else.

When [the road diet] first came, I immediately noticed morning backups on other streets, like Third, he said. And I thought, oh no, they are consciously avoiding Broadway.

Thats what Broadways holiday-ready shopkeepers, including one who is planning to close her business, say the citys efforts have cost them customers. Many who participated in a protest of the project this summer said their continued complaints are going unheard and they havent seen any improvement since then.

Business is down 40%, Hot Javas Davis said about the decline the nearly 30-year-old business has experienced. We lost all of our morning traffic from people who used to run in and get their coffee because they have nowhere to park in front of our building.

Frustrated by a perceived lack of response and communication from city officialsWe dont feel like there has been honest communication. Theres more rumors on this street than factsDavis said he and more than 1,000 other business owners and area residents have signed a petition stating that the reconfiguration is dangerous to the public and detrimental to businesses. It asks the city to restore lost parking spaces and widen the lanes.

Walter Ordonez, the owner of the beauty salon J.W. Goodsons, started a Broadway Legal Defense Fund on GoFundMe to raise money for a legal fight against the cityif thats what it takesto fix the roadway and compensate impacted businesses. Shop owners and residents collected $6,000 before the webpage was set up, he said, and theyre hoping to raise at least $25,000 through the official fundraiser.

Our political representatives have ignored our concerns and our pleas to correct these issues. We intend to be heard and fix this problem in the courts, Ordonez said, noting that hes seen zero walk-ins for beauty services since the road diet, and he was forced to layoff one of the salons receptionists.

Both business owners said customers and employees complain about the lack of street parking and the poor visibility when turning onto Broadway or when trying to pass vehicles that have blocked traffic, and they both shared concerns about not having any handicap parking near their storefronts. Davis also said his delivery drivers dont have a loading zone they can use to drop off goods.

Even harder hit is businesswoman Merry Colvin, whose boutique is up for sale and will likely close at the end of January. Colvin likes to say one little neighborhood storefront is all it takes to make the world a better place, and she opened Merrys, an Eastern bazaar-style shop, back in 2006.

I love my store, but there are no customers in here today and its been like thatits been horrible, Colvin told the Long Beach Post, noting that shes unable to pay the renteven in a strong economy. The road diet is putting me out of business. I never saw myself leaving, but I cannot stay.

She said customers who used to stop on Broadway for a coffee at The Firehouse or dinner at Gallaghers would often walk around and into her store, but thats not happening anymore.

The dynamic of the street has changed, she said. Im down minimally 50%, but its probably more like 70%. My regulars dont want to drive on the street. They are avoiding Broadway and the stores here.

Colvin said shes called everyone at City Hall, but she hasnt been satisfied with the response: They think its great and they keep saying, Oh youll get used to it. Its so condescending. Im furious.

And despite the fact that District 2 Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce (who did not respond to requests for comment) and city staffers have said the public was notified about the scope of work, Colvin and other business owners said the project in its current form was not communicated.

We had meetings for years and came up with a phenomenal Broadway Visioning Plan, and we all thought we were getting three lanes with diagonal parking on one side, better lighting, more bulb outs Colvin said.

Davis agreed. He thought the city was installing head-in parking and a sidewalk bump (or bulb out) to expand his patio space: We were really excited, but this was 100% a surprise how this turned out.

In response to criticism about not including diagonal parking, Carey said Broadway simply could not accommodate that and a bike lane, so officials had to prioritize. Other planned improvements, including bulb outs, may be added later as funding sources are identified, she noted.

Park Pantry manager Tammy Centanni also said shed been looking forward to what she thought would be fresh pavement and extended sidewalks outside the diner. Whats happening instead, she said, is a serious problem going unaddressed.

Ive let the city know about some of the issues were having, and they havent done anything about it, she said.

Business has slowed so much at Park Pantry that she hasnt been able to give her team the hours theyre asking for and shes concerned about losing good employees.

Its not fair for the city of Long Beach to do this to these businesses, Centanni said. Weve been here for 60 years, and they should care.

Carey said Public Works would continue to collect data and make necessary adjustments to the project, and several changes already have been made since the summer based on feedback from area business owners and residents. Those recent changes include: the removal of about half of the installed curb stops (low plastic barriers), giving cars more room to park; more visible paint on the street; adding loading zones in front of businesses that requested them; reducing the size of various red zones; and eliminating street sweeping hours by using a smaller machine to only sweep inside the bike lanes.

We dont have a real efficient way of counting exactly how many parking spaces weve added, she said. We did quite a bit of manipulating to see how we could add that space back.

Business owners said they havent noticed any changes at all or that the changes havent been enough. Carey, who personally drives that corridor to and from work every day, said she believes people are adjusting to the road diet.

Any time you implement a large change like this, people are going to be unfamiliar with it and its going to be a hard transition, Carey said. No one likes change. I dont like change. But as everyone starts adjusting to it and getting used to it and familiar with it, we do see that the concerns and the complaints drop, and that is what weve seen on Broadway as with other projects in the city.

She said the city doesnt currently have any plans to put Broadway back the way it was before the road diet, but she said the Public Works department takes all concerns seriously and will continue to evaluate and improve the thoroughfare.

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What the hell is going on?: Businesses hoping for holiday shoppers say road diet is no Miracle on Broadway - Long Beach Post

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