Health

(NEW YORK) — The sudden collapse of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals left millions of Americans in shock and anxiously waiting for news of his condition.

“Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals,” the Bills tweeted early Tuesday. “His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”

The 24-year-old remains in the intensive care unit, according to the Bills. Family spokesperson Jordon Rooney told “Good Morning America” that the family is “in good spirits” and “taking it minute by minute.”

Despite confirmation about the medical episode Hamlin suffered, the term “cardiac arrest” is often used interchangeably with the term “heart attack,” even though the two are not the same.

“This differentiation between cardiac arrest and heart attack is really important because they are two things that can both occur in the same person or be completely separate,” Dr. Deepak Bhatt, an expert in cardiovascular medicine and director of Mount Sinai Heart in New York City, told ABC News.

Heart attack vs. cardiac arrest

Heart attacks occur when a coronary artery leading to the heart is blocked, which prevents blood from reaching the organ.

Meanwhile, “a cardiac arrest essentially is the cessation of heart activity or a stopping of the heart pumping, which is generally due to what’s called an arrhythmia or an electrical disturbance of the heart,” Dr. Matthew Saybolt, a cardiologist with Jersey Shore University Medical Center, told ABC News.

One good way to differentiate between the two is to think of a heart attack as a “circulation” problem and cardiac arrest as an “electrical” problem, according to the American Heart Association.

While cardiac arrest can occur immediately following a heart attack or during recovery — and heart attacks increase the risk of cardiac arrest — one does not have to be preceded by the other.

“Heart attacks can cause a cardiac arrest but not all cardiac arrests are due to a heart attack and not all heart attacks result in a cardiac arrest,” Bhatt said.

Heart attacks are primarily caused by coronary heart disease, which is when heart arteries can’t deliver enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart.

This happens because of atherosclerosis, which is the narrowing of blood vessels from plaque build-up made of fat, cholesterol, and other substances. Risk factors for atherosclerosis and having a heart attack include older age, male sex, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, among others.

Cardiac arrest meanwhile can be caused by several conditions, including ventricular fibrillation, a type of arrhythmia where the lower chambers of the heart don’t beat normally; coronary artery disease; heart failure; congenital heart disease; and commotio cordis, experts said.

The latter condition occurs when the heart’s rhythm is disrupted due to a blow to the chest that lands at a very specific moment in the heartbeat. It’s most typically seen with athletes who play sports with projectiles, including baseballs and hockey pucks.

“Classically, where I’ve seen it before is a baseball player line drive to the chest of the pitcher and then the pitcher collapses,” Bhatt said. “And even though that’s a young, healthy pitcher, that sudden line drive to the chest has hit their heart at just the wrong time in the heart’s electrical cycle such that it triggers an abnormal heart rhythm.”

Symptoms between a heart attack and cardiac arrest also vary. The most common symptoms of a heart attack are chest pain or discomfort; pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach; shortness of breath; and lightheadedness or dizziness, according to the AHA.

Patients can have immediate symptoms, symptoms that start mildly and then progress and, in some cases, no symptoms at all.

Comparatively, the symptoms of a cardiac arrest patient are immediate and often without warning. They include loss of consciousness or collapse with faint or loss of pulse, often with labored breathing or no breathing at all.

How to help save patients

In both instances, experts say to check for responsiveness then shout for nearby help and to call 911 or your local emergency number so the patient can immediately receive medical attention.

When it comes to someone experiencing cardiac arrest, call for or find an automated external defibrillator, or an AED, and use it as soon as possible.

AEDs, which are located in most public buildings — including restaurants, sporting events and workplaces — are medical devices that analyze the heart’s rhythm and will deliver an electrical shock if needed. Experts add that you don’t need to worry about hurting the patient when using it.

“If the AED thinks that the patient is in an arrhythmia that needs to be shocked that AED will figure that out and deliver that shock,” Dr. Michael Emery, a cardiologist and co-director of the Sports Cardiology Center at Cleveland Clinic, told ABC News. “You as a bystander do not have to figure out whether you need to shock this patient at all. Whether they’re having a heart attack or not or they’re having a cardiac arrest, the AED is smart enough to figure that out all on its own. All you have to do is call 911, get the AED and apply it.”

The other important thing to do is begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR as soon as possible. If it’s performed on a patient immediately, it can double or triple the odds of survival, according to the AHA.

Hamlin quickly received CPR after he collapsed on the field, which helped resuscitate him long enough to be transported to a hospital.

“Bystander CPR is life-saving,” Emery said. “What we know is that for every minute that you delay resuscitation in the setting of an arrest, the outcomes drastically worsen. So, the sooner you can start CPR and apply an AED, the more likely that patient is going to survive just from a pure timing standpoint.”

“There are instances where people’s heart can stop for a long period of time, but with good CPR, that bystander CPR can keep the patient alive for a long time until next-level medical attention can either shock the heart or treat the condition that caused all this,” Saybolt added.

The experts said they hope the situation helps people learn to recognize the symptoms of heart attacks and cardiac arrest and encourages them to learn CPR.

“Even if you’re thinking, ‘Oh, I’m never going to need to do that,’ by getting that sort of training, you’re more likely to help someone, you know, a friend or a coworker or a family member,” Bhatt said. “So, I think it’s really a good idea for everyone to do that, to get that sort of basic training just so that you can potentially save someone’s life.”

ABC News’ Nicole Wetsman contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(BUFFALO, N.Y.) — In the aftermath of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin’s shocking collapse and cardiac arrest during Monday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, expert medical organizations highlighted the importance of bystanders learning to perform lifesaving CPR.

“All of us need to learn CPR. People don’t realize that if someone is unconscious and not breathing and doesn’t appear to be alive, that CPR is essential,” Dr. Benjamin Abella, director of the Center for Resuscitation Science at the University of Pennsylvania, told ABC News.

During a cardiac arrest, the heart stops beating properly. More than 350,000 people suffer from cardiac arrest outside of the hospital each year, according to the American Heart Association. Of those cardiac arrests, 70% happen in homes and nearly 20% happen in public settings.

But less than half of those who have a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital are given CPR by people nearby — even though it can double their chance of survival, research shows. Only about 10% of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survive, according to the AHA.

The AHA has guidelines outlining the steps people should take if they see someone suffering a cardiac arrest.

The first step is recognizing that someone is in cardiac arrest and calling 911. Someone might be in cardiac arrest if they collapse suddenly, lose consciousness, are not breathing on their own, are gasping for air or do not have a pulse. Next, bystanders should start CPR immediately, the AHA says, which can restore and maintain blood flow through the person’s body until professional help arrives. If an automated external defibrillator (AED) is available, you should place it on the person while continuing CPR.

AEDs can help restore a normal heartbeat in some cases of cardiac arrest. You can often find AEDs in public spaces such as offices, stores and airports. They provide step-by-step instructions and voice prompts to assist someone in cardiac arrest.

Following these steps can improve the chances of survival and recovery for people who have a cardiac arrest out of the hospital.

There are free online resources from medical organizations such as NewYork-Presbyterian and the AHA that teach people the basics of CPR. Training is also widely available in the United States. In a survey of nearly 10,000 people in the U.S. in 2015, 65% reported having CPR training at some point.

When performing CPR, you should push on the chest with at least 100 compressions per minute. That’s applying compressions to the beat of songs like “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees or “Just Dance” by Lady Gaga. NewYork-Presbyterian curated a playlist of songs on Spotify that fit the necessary rhythm.

Many people who witness a cardiac arrest, though, don’t step in to perform CPR.

There are racial disparities among the individuals who commonly receive bystander CPR. Black and Hispanic adults are less likely to get CPR from bystanders than white adults, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. People in the United States are less likely to initiate CPR for people with cardiac arrest in low-income, predominantly Black or Hispanic neighborhoods than in high-income white neighborhoods, the study showed.

People said they’d be reluctant to perform CPR, even if they’re trained, out of fear of causing additional harm. But Good Samaritan laws in place in all 50 U.S. states protect civilians who step in to help during an emergency from legal liability in many cases.

You can find CPR training in your area here.

Shelbi A. Swyden, MD, is an emergency medicine resident at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and is a part of the ABC News Medical Unit.

ABC News’ Nicole Wetsman contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The collapse of Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin during Monday night’s NFL game between the Bills and Cincinnati Bengals with millions watching at home is bringing cardiac arrest, even among young professional athletes, into a larger focus.

Hamlin, 24, “suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit” in the on-field episode, the Bills said in a tweet. “His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment.

He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition,” the team added.

What is cardiac arrest?

Cardiac arrest refers to when the heart unexpectedly stops beating, causing the heart to stop pumping blood to the rest of the body and to vital organs such as the brain and lungs, according to the American Heart Association.

Between 70% to 90% of people who experience cardiac arrest die before reaching the hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The National Institutes of Health reports that as many as 450,000 deaths each year in the U.S. are caused by cardiac arrest.

What causes cardiac arrest?

The term cardiac arrest, as defined by the American Heart Association, indicates there is an electrical malfunction that affects the heart, causing arrhythmia or an irregular heartbeat.

Other causes for cardiac arrest may include vascular or blood vessel injury, a traumatic event such as a blow to the head or a sudden brain injury or neurological injury, scarring of heart tissue, thickened heart muscle, certain heart medications, electrical abnormalities and blood vessel abnormalities.

In rare cases, a direct hit to the chest can also lead to a cardiac arrest.

Who is at risk for cardiac arrest?

Individuals with preexisting heart conditions, such as coronary heart disease or heart valve disease, or those born with heart issues, such as a congenital heart defect, may be at risk for cardiac arrest, according to the National Institutes of Health.

What are the signs of cardiac arrest?

The NIH notes that someone may be in cardiac arrest if they pass out or collapse and lose consciousness, similar to what happened to Hamlin midfield.

Other symptoms of cardiac arrest include someone gasping for air, someone who stops breathing or someone who does not have a pulse.

What is the treatment for cardiac arrest?

Cardiac arrest is considered an emergency and those who experience cardiac arrest need medical attention immediately. Dial 911 if you suspect someone near you is in cardiac arrest.

Two immediate treatments for someone in cardiac arrest include cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, and rapid defibrillation.

Using an automated external defibrillator, or AED, is a potential option, although ABC News’ Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton noted on Good Morning America that not every cardiac arrest event can benefit as someone needs to have a “shockable rhythm.”

Ashton noted that intubation is also normal when it comes to recovery from cardiac arrest.

“When there’s any question of brain injury, and certainly after a cardiac arrest, you want to make sure that those vital signs and … anyone’s ability to keep their blood oxygenated is protected,” she said. “And the best way to do that is with intubation and sedation.”

Ashton encouraged people to learn CPR and noted that a bystander with little to no training can perform CRP and use an AED.

“I think that’s the take home [message] here. Learn CPR,” Ashton said. “If you see a defibrillator there, it will talk you through the entire process.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — For the first time ever, an annual ranking of best diets now includes diets that work best for the whole family.

The flexitarian, Mediterranean and TLC diets all tied for first place in the family-friendly category of U.S. News and World Report’s annual ranking of diets.

The flexitarian diet is one that encourages a vegetarian diet most of the time, but has flexibility to also include animal proteins like a hamburger. The Mediterranean diet centers on whole grains, healthy fats, vegetables, fruits and seafood, while the TLC diet, which stands for therapeutic lifestyle changes, also calls for eating lots of vegetables, whole grains, fruits and lean meats, according to Gretel Schueller, managing editor of U.S. News and World Report.

Schueller said the magazine considers diet in its rankings to be a way of eating, not a plan to lose weight. She said the rankings’ new family-friendly category is an acknowledgement that families want to eat healthy together and not follow multiple meal plans.

“Obviously, you don’t want to prepare multiple meals for different family members every day, because that’s not going to last very long,” Schueller told ABC News. “We wanted to make sure that the eating plan offered nutritional value for different calorie and nutritional needs, for example, different ages, different activity levels, health conditions, when you have a different group of people.”

She added, “You can eat literally anything on those diets. It’s about making sure that the bulk of your your calories and your nutrition is coming from vegetables and fruits and whole grains.”

Nutrition experts say there’s no one diet that will work for everyone. Certain diets may be more beneficial depending on your circumstances. Anyone considering changes to their diet should consult with their doctor, experts say.

U.S. News’ panel of experts that determine the annual diet rankings also looked at “real-world constraints” like budget, meal prep time and availability of foods when picking the best family-friendly diets, according to Schueller.

“For example, how easy is it to find that required supplement or food ingredient,” she said. “We also asked how adaptable is that diet for whole family or group of people with different cultural, religious or dietary preferences.”

In addition to ranking at the top of the family-friendly category, the Mediterranean, flexitarian and TLC diets each also ranked in the top five of the Best Overall Diets category in U.S. News and World Report’s rankings.

The Mediterranean diet topped the list as the best diet for the sixth year in a row.

“Any plan that cuts out an entire food group or fruit or dairy for non-medical reasons is a red flag and it’s the reason the Mediterranean diet is always such a big winner,” said Schueller. “You’re eating delicious whole foods. It’s backed by decades of research showing its health benefits for a variety of health conditions. The Mediterranean diet is healthy, it’s sustainable, it’s a flavorful way to eat and it’s adaptable.”

She continued, “It’s not just about olives and feta and other foods of the Mediterranean. You can adapt the principles of this Mediterranean lifestyle for virtually any cuisine, any culture.”

Close watchers will notice that this year’s Best Diets list does not include some culturally popular diets like Whole30 as it has in the past.

U.S. News’ panel of experts — which includes top specialists in nutrition, diabetes, heart health and weight loss — decided this year to focus on “quality over quantity” and ranked a total of 24 diets.

Weight Watchers, now known as WW, scored the top spot in two categories, Best Weight-Loss Diets and Best Diet Programs.

The keto diet, which focuses on eating foods high in fat and low in carbohydrates, ranked No. 1 in the category of Best Fast Weight-Loss Diets, while it ranked 20th in the Best Overall Diets list.

“What we’re seeing is that diets that support people learning to make healthy eating choices and smart meal-prepping on their own are the diets that do well, while diets that are overly restrictive, whether we’re talking about calories or whole food groups, those are the diets that rank poorly,” said Schueller. “There’s not a one-size-fits-all approach to diets. You’ve got to consider your personality and lifestyle.”

Here is a breakdown of the top five diets in U.S. News and World Report’s 2023 Best Diets Overall ranking:

1. Mediterranean diet

U.S. News and World Report calls the Mediterranean diet a “well-balanced eating plan” and points to research that suggests the diet helps prevent some chronic diseases and increases longevity.

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes eating fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts, legumes, virgin olive oil and flavorful herbs and spices; fish and seafood at least twice a week; and poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt in moderation, according to U.S. News and World Report.

It focuses on the quality of foods rather than a single nutrient or food group. People who follow a Mediterranean diet enjoy red meat and desserts as “occasional treats,” the magazine says. Red wine in moderation and with meals is optional.

“This type of low-fat eating pattern leaves little room for the saturated fat, added sugars and sodium that inundate the standard American diet,” the magazine says. “People who eat a Mediterranean-style diet have longer lifespans, report a higher quality of life and are less likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.”

2. DASH diet

The DASH diet, made up of low-sodium and healthful foods, was originally started by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) as a diet to help reduce blood pressure.

The NHLBI publishes free guides on the plan so you can see if it is right for you.

The plan focuses on fruit, vegetables, whole grain, lean protein and eliminates foods high in fat, like fatty meats and full-fat dairy, and sugar-sweetened drinks and sweets, according to U.S. News and World Report. An important component is minimizing the intake of salt, which is shown to lower blood pressure.

“The DASH diet is similar to the Mediterranean dietary pattern but gives more concrete recommendations and advice on actual amounts and limits of types of foods consumed,” the magazine says, noting that food groups are not eliminated in the DASH diet, which provides serving recommendations.

2. Flexitarian diet

The flexitarian diet encourages people to try alternative meat options, like tofu, but leaves room for flexibility if you can’t quite fully give up meat. The diet was promoted by dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner in a 2009 book that says you can reap the benefits of a plant-heavy diet even if you eat meat occasionally, according to U.S. News and World Report.

This plant-heavy diet focuses on adding five food groups — “new meat,” fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dairy and sugar and spices — to your diet instead of taking foods away.

The “new meat” food group includes tofu, beans, lentils, peas, nuts, seeds and eggs, according to U.S. News and World Report, which notes the health benefits of the diet can include a lower rate of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

“With a flexitarian diet – often called a semi-vegetarian diet – you don’t have to eliminate meat completely to reap the health benefits associated with vegetarianism,” the magazines states. “Instead, you can be a vegetarian most of the time, but still enjoy a burger or steak when the urge hits.”

4. MIND diet

The Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet is a hybrid of the top-rated DASH and Mediterranean diets.

Research has shown that this diet may improve cognitive function in older adults and may be superior to other diets in this regard, including those listed here.

The diet focuses on food groups known to improve brain health, including green leafy vegetables in particular, all other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine,” according to U.S. News and World Report.

Among the diet’s requirements is eating three servings of whole grains, a salad and another vegetable daily, as well as fish once a week and poultry twice a week. Foods like red meat, sweets and full-fat cheese are limited.

5. TLC diet

The TLC (Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes) diet was created by the National Institute of Health’s National Cholesterol Education Program with the “goal of cutting cholesterol as part of a heart-healthy eating regimen,” according to U.S. News and World Report.

In addition to setting a daily caloric goal, participants aim to cut saturated fat to less than 7% of daily calories and aim to consume no more than 200 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The diet calls for eating lots of vegetables, fruits, low-fat or fat-free dairy and lean meats, and allows for servings of breads and pasta too. Fatty fish such as salmon and tuna are recommended to be eaten twice a week, while consuming egg yolks is restricted to two times or less per week. A high intake of soluble fiber of 10 to 25 grams per day is also recommended.

The emphasis of this diet on keeping detailed track of cholesterol intake can make it hard for people to follow. Moreover, more recent research suggests that dietary cholesterol does not seem to have an impact on cardiovascular disease risk, so specific intake restrictions are no longer recommended.

A scientific advisory statement from the American Heart Association recommended that dietary guidance should instead focus on healthy dietary patterns, like the Mediterranean and DASH diets, that are inherently low in cholesterol.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — When the ball dropped at midnight on New Year’s Eve, some people took their last sip of alcohol for the next 31 days in a New Year’s challenge known as “Dry January.”

The challenge, as the name implies, is to go dry in January, i.e. having no alcohol for the entire month.

The Dry January campaign was started in 2013 in England and is now becoming more and more popular in the U.S.

“Alcohol consumption is a generally accepted part of our society and culture but a lot of people are either overtly overdoing it and overindulging or they’re teetering on the line,” said Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a practicing OBGYN and ABC News chief medical correspondent. “That might not be segueing into a real alcohol problem but it might still be impacting on their health in other ways.”

Ashton, author of The Self-Care Solution: A Year of Becoming Happier, Healthier and Fitter – One Month at a Time, has practiced Dry January for the last several years and is doing it again this month, too.

She notes the challenge is not “an exercise in abstinence or sobriety” and is not for people “who may have a serious problem with alcohol use, abuse or dependence.”

According to Ashton, Dry January is instead a “personal and individual wellness challenge” that may lead to some surprising benefits and findings, well beyond the more well-known physical benefits like possibly losing weight.

Here are four unexpected outcomes of Dry January, according to Ashton:

1. More money in your bank account.

“You’ll definitely save money,” said Ashton. “How much depends obviously on how much you were drinking before, but if you haven’t noticed cocktails and wine out at bars and restaurants can definitely add up so you can save some money by going dry for a month.”

2. A wake-up call on servings.

For women, a moderate alcohol intake per week is defined as seven servings of alcohol or less. For men, it is 14 servings of alcohol or less per week, according to Ashton.

One serving of alcohol is defined as five ounces for wine and just one-and-a-half ounces for hard alcohol, far less than what is typically served in bars, restaurants and people’s homes.

Ashton recommends starting Dry January by doing a reality check with an experiment in your own kitchen. Fill a measuring cup with five ounces of water and then pour the water into a wine glass so you can visualize a five-ounce serving. Do the same for the hard liquor serving size of one-and-a-half ounces.

“Actually [look] at the volume you’re consuming and how that may or may not differ from the reality,” said Ashton. “You could actually be getting double the amount that you think you’re drinking.”

3. Deeper connections with friends and family.

“A lot of people will notice they’re more socially attuned and connected, more plugged into the environment that they’re in, rather than automatically and mindlessly kind of starting to drink when [they]’re in a social situation or environment,” said Ashton. “An example for that would be you meet a friend for a drink and you really find that you’re more focused and concentrated on what he or she is telling you and talking to you about than you might be if you were consuming alcohol.”

4. A fun challenge may turn into something more.

“If you do find [Dry January] really difficult, then do not hesitate to seek professional evaluation for a possible alcohol use, abuse or dependence problem,” Ashton said. “Sometimes that’s the blessing in disguise, that you may start on this dry month as kind of fun thing and uncover a more significant medical and behavioral issue.”

If you are concerned about yourself or a loved one, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMSA) confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). For information and resources about alcohol-related problems and health, visit the website of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) HERE.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Welcome to GMA’s New Year, Best You. As we ring in 2023, we are sharing everything you need to start the new year strong. From keeping your New Year’s resolutions going to Instagram-worthy meal prep to workout programs to eating plans to taking time for yourself, we have it all covered.

The Whole30 program, based on a bestselling book, eliminates food groups like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes from participants’ diets for a full 30 days. With many people starting Whole30 in January, after the holidays are over, GMA asked certified health coach Brooke Brennan to share her top tips.

Brennan, a mother of two from Florida, has done the Whole30 three times herself and supported countless clients, family and friends through it as well. She is doing Whole30 again this January alongside her husband.

Here, Brennan shares her 10 tips for making it through the Whole30 program with a smile on your face.

1. Focus on what you are adding, not eliminating

The food you eat fuels you to LIVE your life.

Focus on all the good things you are adding into your body during the 30 days, instead of the things you are taking out. The more good stuff you put in each day, the more good stuff you are going to get out each day.

2. Get to know the free resources available to you

There are incredible resources at your fingertips on the Whole30 website that make completing it easy to understand and prepare for. Here are some to get you started:

Whole 30 Program Rules

Whole 30 Shopping List for Omnivores

Whole 30 Shopping List for Vegetarians

Whole 30 Pantry Stocking List

Finding recipes online is easier than ever before with many incredible recipe developers who specialize in creating beautiful Whole30 compliant dishes. An Instagram poll asked for the best Whole30 recipe developers and here are some that were recommended:

Thedefineddish.com

Paleorunningmomma.com

Nomnompaleo.com

Oliveyouwhole.com

Nocrumbsleft.net

3. Do Whole30 with a friend

Grab a buddy to do the Whole 30 with you.

The support, camaraderie and accountability can make the process so much more fun! But, if you can’t find someone who wants to join you, lean on social media. The Whole 30 Instagram page has a strong community of supportive men and women who are a wealth of knowledge during the process.

4. Plan ahead

Plan, plan and plan some more.

Eating on the Whole30 requires you to think about what you are going to be putting into your body at each meal — which, we all should be doing every day on or off any specific diet. Write down what you want your meals to be each day of the week on the Whole30 and shop to that list.

If you plan to be successful, you absolutely will be. Don’t leave your food up to chance! See the end of this piece for a typical menu of what I eat in a day on the Whole30.

5. Focus on ingredients over calories

Shift your focus to the ingredient list on the foods you eat instead of the nutritional label.

Knowing exactly what ingredients are in the food you eat is so much more important than the number of calories the food contains.

Learn to be your own ingredient detective. Hidden sugars are in so many foods we eat. Here is a great resource on Whole 30 Sneaky Sugars to help you know what to look for.

6. Find Whole30 compliant products

We are so lucky because there are a number of wonderful companies that create Whole30 compliant plus delicious products that you can grab and use every day.

Having dressings, sauces and seasonings you can use help transform your favorite foods into brand new dishes from one day to the next.

7. Don’t become a hermit

Go out to eat and be with your family and friends. Ordering out doesn’t have to be hard. You just need to know how to ask for what you want. The quicker you get out and about, the easier it will be.

Here are some ideas for things you can order at a restaurant:
– Order a salad (just hold all the non-compliant ingredients like cheese, croutons, tortilla strips, etc) and ask for extra avocado, veggies, egg and a grilled protein. Bring your own dressing or ask for oil and vinegar or lemon to dress it yourself.
– Order burgers without buns, tacos in lettuce shells with extra salsa and avocado (hold the cheese!) or when in doubt choose a protein and steamed veggies (or ask for veggies prepared in just olive oil).

8. Keep snacks on hand

Keep a snack in your bag just in case you need it. Getting “hangry” can lead to some interesting food choices, so if you feel hungry and it isn’t quite meal time, eat a snack.

Never ignore your hunger cues. That is your body’s way of telling you it needs some more gas in the tank. Our go-to snacks are hard boiled eggs, cold apples, berries, raw walnuts, leftover roasted veggies or almond butter (just look at the ingredient list and look to make sure the only ingredient is almonds!) with a banana.

9. Don’t skip the reintroduction

Whatever you do, don’t skip the reintroduction. The big magic happens in the 10 days following your Whole30, when you reintroduce the food groups one at a time to notice how your body responds.

What you learn during this 10-day process helps you to shape how you can eat to feel your best long-term. Here is the Whole 30 outline of the reintroduction phase.

10. Be confident

You can do anything for 30 days. Feel confident and empowered by your decision to complete the Whole30.

It can make you feel even better than you ever knew possible. I know we can’t wait to complete our fourth this month!

What I eat in a typical day on Whole30

7 a.m. Whole30 fiber and protein coffee.

9 – 10 a.m. Superfood nut, seed and fruit granola with unsweetened almond milk and fresh berries (Get the granola recipe HERE).

12 – 1 p.m. Buffalo tuna stuffed bell pepper (can sub hard-boiled egg or chicken for the tuna in this recipe) with a salad or roasted sweet potato.

3 – 4 p.m. Snack, if needed, of hard-boiled pasture-raised egg, a handful of raw walnuts or a small piece of fruit/berries.

6 – 7 p.m. Spinach, artichoke and leek “uncrusted” quiche with roasted dutch gold potatoes and avocado.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — If you’re feeling hungover from New Year’s Eve champagne or had one too many boozy eggnogs over the holidays, let this January be a fresh start.

Taking the challenge of going dry in January, or Dry January, i.e. having no alcohol for the entire month, is one resolution that might actually make you healthier.

The Dry January campaign was started in 2013 by Alcohol Change U.K., a charity focused on reducing alcohol harm. For the past several years, the initiative has proved popular in the United States and other countries too.

What are the health benefits of Dry January?

While research on how quitting alcohol for a month affects your body is still limited, several studies have shown psychological and health benefits.

Over one dozen staff members at the magazine New Scientist teamed up with researchers at the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health at the University College London Medical School in 2013 to investigate the benefits of Dry January.

The staff members, who all considered themselves “normal” drinkers, underwent baseline testing with blood samples, liver ultrasound scans and questionnaires. For the next five weeks, 10 of them stopped drinking and four drank their normal amounts.

The people who stopped drinking had lower levels of liver fat (which can be a precursor to liver damage), improved blood sugars and lower cholesterol than they did at the beginning of the month. They also reported improved sleep and concentration. In contrast, the four people who kept drinking saw no benefit.

Another study out of the U.K. had nearly 100 participants abstain from drinking alcohol for a month and another nearly 50 participants continue drinking alcohol as normal.

They found that moderate-heavy drinkers who took a break from alcohol had improved insulin resistance, weight, blood pressure, and cancer-related growth factors.

The researchers do warn, however, that the study does not show that a short-term ‘detox’ period is all that is required to ‘refresh’ the liver or achieve other health gains. Abstaining from alcohol for a month is only one part of addressing negative effects from longer-term alcohol consumption.

People who drink excessive amounts of alcohol are at higher risk of death and many medical conditions.

Excessive alcohol use is the third-leading cause of preventable death in the United States, according to the U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

People who drink unhealthy amounts of alcohol are more likely to have high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, nerve damage, infections including pneumonia and even certain cancers like breast cancer.

Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol may also have a negative impact on mental health, including memory loss, depression and anxiety, according to the American Psychological Association.

Who should try Dry January?

Dr. Fulton Crews, director of the Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said attempting to stop drinking for Dry January is a good opportunity for people to see if they have an actual addiction to alcohol.

“Many people are in denial about their drinking and hazardous drinking, and if they try to stop and are not able to, it really points out to them their weakness,” Crews told ABC News. “If they can’t stop for a month, they would realize that they have a problem.

“Either that or they do it, and they realize it’s not that hard for them,” said Crews, who described Dry January as a “good idea.”

Experts say Dry January may be especially helpful to those who consistently drink over the recommended amount of two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women.

Excessive drinking includes binge drinking, defined as consuming five or more drinks for men in a single occasion and four or more drinks for women, and heavy drinking, defined as consuming 15 or more drinks per week for men or eight drinks or more for women). A standard drink is 12 ounces of a regular beer, 8 ounces of a malt liquor, 5 ounces of a glass of wine, and 1.5 ounces of a spirit, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For those individuals who drink alcohol within the recommended limits, Crews said he is “not sure there would be any observable benefits.”

“I don’t see any clear potential for a moderate drinking person to stop drinking,” he said.

If you do choose to participate in Dry January, Crews shared his advice for sticking to the program.

“Try to avoid temptation by maybe putting all the alcohol out of the house,” he said.

Does Dry January prompt bigger change for some?

Staying dry for January may also help jump-start people to give up alcohol for longer.

Although most people who participate in Dry January return to drinking, up to 8% stay dry six months later, according to Public Health England and the British Medical Journal.

And those who go back to drinking drink less. A 2015 study conducted in the U.K. and published in the journal Health Psychology found that people who participated in Dry January drank less often, had fewer drinks when they did drink and were drunk less often six months after Dry January was completed.

Dry January participants were also better able to refuse alcoholic drinks. These benefits were even seen in people who did not complete the whole month of Dry January.

It might seem daunting to stop drinking alcohol for a whole month. Between cocktail hour after work, beers while watching the football game, and that relaxing glass of wine after a long day, our culture sometimes seems to revolve around alcohol.

But the 2015 Health Psychology study found that 65% of people successfully completed the month of abstinence.

Have more questions about Dry January? Find out more about the benefits of the challenge HERE; get three tips to make Dry January easier HERE; and read about Ashton’s 2019 Dry January experience HERE.

If you are concerned about yourself or a loved one, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMSA) confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). For information and resources about alcohol-related problems and health, visit the website of the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) HERE.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The ketogenic diet, described as “Atkins on steroids” for its focus on foods high in fat and low in carbohydrates, is an increasingly popular diet, with more than 25 million posts about it on Instagram alone.

If you’re looking to start the trendy diet in the New Year, here is what you need to know.

What is the ketogenic diet?

The ketogenic, keto for short, diet was developed in the 1920s after it was noticed that after fasting, epileptics would experience a marked reduction in their seizures. The diet is designed to get your body into a state called ketosis whereby your body is so low on carbohydrates it starts burning fat for fuel.

Ketosis is also what the body does when fasting.

The diet’s proponents say it is the best way to lose weight without feeling hungry and that it increases energy levels.

What do people eat on the keto diet?

Keto dieters drastically cut carbohydrates to about 10 percent of their daily diet, which in some cases can be just 20 grams of carbohydrates per day.

That amount of carbohydrates is equivalent to one slice of white bread per day, Maya Feller, a New York City-based registered dietitian, told ABC News last year.

The amount of fat someone following the keto diet may consume in one day could be more than five times the recommended intake for daily fat for the average American, Feller says.

But she stresses that those fats should come from healthy fat food sources, such as olive oil and nuts.

“When I see people who are living the keto lifestyle, it’s rarely people who are eating fatty foods and doing nothing,” she said. “They’re trying to keep themselves in ketosis and doing things like eating chicken and fish; they’re actually paying attention.”

Foods that are “keto-friendly” include items like eggs, butter, unprocessed cheese, avocados, meat, low-carb veggies and nuts and seeds.

What to know before starting a keto diet

While the keto diet is consistently one of the most-searched diets online, it has ranked low on U.S. News & World Report’s annual best diets rankings in recent years in large part because of its restrictions and focus on fat.

Some critics of the keto diet argue that it is nearly impossible to follow for a long period of time, and that it could lead to muscle loss or deprive the brain of its preferred fuel source: carbs.

Additionally, they argue that the majority of the research on the keto diet has not yet looked at the long-term effects it has on non-epileptic people over the course of 15 to 20 years.

Feller, who was not associated with the U.S. News and World report ranking, warns, “If we’re talking about the majority of the country, [the keto diet] is not indicated and it’s not going to be adhered to properly, and [it] is not sustainable. It’s not ever my first-line recommendation.”

People who want to make a change in their health should take a look at what they’re eating and their dietary patterns, and then make modifications that are sustainable, Feller said, noting that dietitians are there to help.

How to get started

If you are ready to commit to the keto diet, Feller recommends talking with a qualified healthcare practitioner first to make sure the keto diet is safe for you and that you are correctly adjusting your macronutrients — protein, carbs and fat.

“You have to have a real understanding of what that means in the context of your day and the context of what you have been eating,” she said.

Feller also recommends making sure you get blood work done regularly, particularly a lipid profile.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week it would require a negative COVID-19 test from all travelers arriving to the U.S. from China as well as those from Hong Kong and Macau.

It comes as China experiences a surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations after dropping its so-called “zero COVID” policy.

“CDC is announcing this step to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the United States during the surge in COVID-19 cases in the People’s Republic of China given the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from the PRC,” the CDC said in a statement.

What’s more, Italian officials said Wednesday that nearly half of passengers on two flights from China to Milan tested positive for the virus.

Public health experts told ABC News that while they understand why the U.S. announced the measure, it is not a viable long-term solution.

“Pre-departure testing is not a fool-proof method to limit the spread of COVID,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor. “It’s hard to see a significant public health value.”

“The people that pre-departure testing will catch are overall drops in the bucket,” he added.

Brownstein and others said passengers testing before traveling may help protect other people on the plane by making sure they don’t contract the virus, but it won’t help the general public.

“One can imagine that the plane — if people are traveling and they have COVID, and they don’t know it — would be safer,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong told ABC News. “So, I guess the fear, and the rationale for having this kind of travel restriction, is to prevent scary variants from coming in, or at least to delay it.”

He continued, “But at this point, the United States has seen so many waves of infection that probably the scariest variant wouldn’t do as much damage as if it were a naive population, like in March of 2020.”

Chin-Hong explained that this means because most of the U.S. population has antibodies either through natural infection or through vaccination, a new variant will likely not cause as much damage as it would have earlier in the pandemic when most Americans didn’t have antibodies.

The experts said another reason the U.S. instituted the rule is because there is little information coming out of China about the true scale of its COVID situation.

China has not reported any evidence of new variants, but has also been accused of underreporting case counts, hospitalizations and deaths.

For example, China’s National Health Commission says the country has only seen 5,241 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began, while data from Johns Hopkins suggests China has had over 16,000 deaths since the pandemic started.

Brownstein said it may be more effective to test passengers upon arrival in the United States, which is a rule recently implemented in Italy.

“I can imagine a situation where someone tests negative [before flying], but is incubating the virus and boards the plane,” he said. “But pre-departure testing is especially not valuable in a world where we already have intense transmission.”

Chin-Hong said China had strict testing measures in place too, but COVID-19 was still able to spread rapidly within the country, and travelers from China could circumvent the U.S. rule by flying to another country first.

He said what the U.S. should focus on is administering the updated bivalent booster to seniors aged 65 and older, because they are at the highest risk of serious disease, hospitalization and death. According to the CDC, only 37.5% of elderly people have been boosted.

“The main thing the U.S. should be doing is independent of China, is continue to invest in vaccinating older individuals, particularly those over 65 because that’s where most of the deaths are and that’s where the booster rate is still abysmally low,” Chin-Hong said. “If you can divert those resources to building up the immune defenses of the people who could get sick, that will have more longevity.”

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Several schools are bringing back mask mandates to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

In New Jersey, two school districts said students will be required to wear face coverings indoors upon returning from winter break.

Paterson Public Schools, which serves abut 25,000 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, said the new rule will go into effect starting Jan. 3.

“I know this is a relief to some, and a frustration to others. No matter what your position may be, I ask for your cooperation,” Eileen Shafer, Paterson school district superintendent, wrote in a letter to parents and guardians. “Please continue to maintain universal masking throughout our buildings and we encourage you to take all other precautions against the spread of the COVID-19, RSV, flu virus including frequent hand washing, avoiding large gatherings, and staying home when sick.”

Meanwhile, Camden City School District, with about 7,500 students between kindergarten and 12th grade, will implement required indoor masking for at least two weeks, through Jan. 17.

“The New Jersey Department of Health has already reported an increase in COVID, flu, and RSV cases,” CCSD Superintendent Katrina McComb wrote in a letter to families. “Therefore, in an effort to be proactive and remain vigilant, all schools and offices will operate under a short mask mandate upon reopening.”

The moves come amid a rise in COVID-19 cases across the country. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, weekly cases have increased 309,272 to 402,525 over the last five weeks, although they have begun to decline recently.

Meanwhile, infections of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and the flu are still high — but appear to have peaked in mid-November and mid-December, respectively, and are now declining, according to CDC data.

According to the CDC’s latest flu report, the cumulative hospitalization rate for influenza is more than four times higher at this point in the year thanx every season going back to 2010-2011, but the number of new admissions has declined for the third week in a row.

Schools in New Jersey are not the only ones bringing back masks. Earlier this month, the School District of Philadelphia announced students would be required to wear masks for the first 10 days after winter break.

“In an effort to be proactive in supporting healthy environments and maintaining in-person learning following students and staff returning from winter break, the District will implement mandatory masking from January 3 through January 13, 2023,” the district wrote in a release, according to local ABC affiliate WPVI.

Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.