(NEW YORK) — Registered dietician and author Rachel Beller joined “Good Morning America” to share tips that will help others level up their nutrition and may help reduce the risk of chronic illness through food.
Beller showed three simple food swaps that can potentially reduce inflammation and lower the risk for certain chronic diseases like heart disease or diabetes. She prefaced that while no single food can cure or prevent chronic disease, overall nutrition over time may help reduce a person’s risk.
Healthier morning beverage
Her first swap and recipe tackles a very popular drink, the chai latte, which can contain over 40 grams of sugar.
Beller said that’s equivalent to drinking 10 teaspoons of sugar, or about 10 lollipops. With excess sugar linked to increased systemic inflammation, she shared a healthy swap to add spices that will give the body a boost of nutrition and flavor.
Golden Chocolate
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 cups non-dairy milk
3 dried Medjool dates, pitted
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground coffee, or 1 shot of organic espresso (optional)
Pinch of sea salt (option)
Directions
Stir ingredients into warm plant-based milk. OR if using a date place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and heat up. For an extra boost of caffeine, you can add an optional shot of espresso.
Benefits of this swap:
Use spices for flavor and for an antioxidant boost and dates for natural sweetness
Turmeric and cacao have anti-inflammatory properties
Ceylon cinnamon contains antioxidants and adds sweet flavor
Squeeze test to swap out better-for-you bread
Most breads, including ones made with whole wheat flour, can still cause a spike in a person’s blood sugar which can contribure to inflammation.
Beller suggests the squeeze test to check, so if you can easily roll a slice of whole wheat bread into a ball, it’s mostly flour and doesn’t contain intact grains and could therefore spike blood sugar faster. High fiber content in carbohydrates slows down glucose absorbtion.
Instead, swap for something that “resists the squish” and has intact, whole grains and seeds in each slice. That will mean it contatins more fiber and will help your body work harder, which is better for blood sugar control, energy balance and staying full longer.
Rethink your oils
Most of us get too much highly refined and processed oils in common snack foods, such as soybean, safflower, sunflower and canola oil which are low in antioxidants and nutrients.
Beller suggest choosing oils to add to your diet that are less processed and retain valuable phytonutrients and antioxidants like olive, avocado, flaxseed and walnut oils, all of which are high in monosaturated fats or mmega-3 fatty acids and could help lower inflamation and risk of chronic disease.
(NEW YORK) — As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 853,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 63% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Jan 19, 2:22 am
Global new cases increased 20% last week, WHO says
Newly reported COVID-19 cases increased 20% last week, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.
More than 18 million new cases were reported in the week ending Jan. 16, up from about 15 million in the previous week, according to the United Nation’s health agency’s weekly epidemiological update.
Last week’s increase marked a decline from the 55% increase reported the previous week, the agency said.
“Nonetheless, a combination of the increased and rapid spread of the Omicron variant, increased population movements and social mixing during and after the end of year holiday period and challenges with ongoing adherence to public health and social measures (PHSM) are expected to lead to increased number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the coming weeks,” Tuesday’s report said.
About 45,000 new deaths were reported worldwide last week, up from about 43,000 the previous week, the agency said.
Jan 18, 7:11 pm
White House to make 400 million N95 masks available for free
The Biden administration will make 400 million non-surgical N95 masks available for free at tens of thousands of pharmacies and community health centers, a White House official said Tuesday.
The administration will start shipping out the masks, which are coming from the Strategic National Stockpile, at the end of this week. Masks will start to be available at pharmacies and community health centers by late next week, with the program “fully up and running” by early February, the official said.
President Joe Biden had announced last week that the administration would be launching a program to provide high-quality masks to Americans for free, but did not provide details.
The announcement comes on the heels of updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that stated that loosely woven cloth masks provide the least amount of protection against COVID-19, and that Americans in some cases might want to opt for higher quality masks like KN95 and N95 respirators.
-ABC News’ Molly Nagle
Jan 18, 5:47 pm
75% of Americans have received at least 1 vaccine dose: CDC
Three-quarters of all Americans — nearly 250 million people — have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On average, around 296,000 Americans daily are receiving their first shot, down by about 35% since mid-December, federal data shows.
Some 62.7 million eligible Americans — those ages 5 and up — are unvaccinated.
-ABC News’ Arielle Mitropoulos
Jan 18, 5:35 pm
Nearly 1 million US children tested positive for COVID-19 last week
Around 981,000 children in the United States tested positive for COVID-19 last week, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
This “dramatic” uptick is a nearly 70% increase over the 580,000 added cases reported the week ending Jan. 6, and a tripling of case counts from the two weeks prior, the organizations said.
With nearly 9.5 million children having tested positive for the virus since the onset of the pandemic, that means 10% of those cases were in the past week alone.
In recent weeks, there has been a significant increase in demand for coronavirus tests as more Americans are exposed to the virus. Many students have also been tested as they return to school, which can lead to an increase in these numbers.
The organizations said there is an “urgent” need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects, and noted in their report that a small proportion of cases have resulted in hospitalization and death.
The rising number of pediatric cases has renewed the push for vaccination. Nearly 19% of children ages 5 to 11 and about 55% of those ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated, according to federal data.
(WASHINGTON) — With the United States facing many of the same crises that Joe Biden took on when he took office one year ago, the president has been taking stock of his legislative accomplishments — including major infrastructure and coronavirus relief packages — and has stayed upbeat even as his popularity plummets and key priorities remain unmet.
“There’s a lot of talk about disappointments and things we haven’t gotten done,” Biden said last week. “We’re going to get a lot of them done, I might add.”
From fighting the pandemic and rebuilding the economy, to dealing with racial strife and combating climate change, Biden faces a mixed report card of what he’s been able to accomplish, as the limits of his office — and political realities he’s had trouble overcoming — launch him into a challenging second year in the White House.
On COVID, shift to science gives way to ‘reactive’ policies
From his first day in office, Biden set a different tone on COVID-19 from his predecessor, President Donald Trump. He embraced science and his top medical advisers — like Dr. Anthony Fauci — donned face coverings, and expressed sympathy for lives lost to the virus.
Biden pushed a $1.9 trillion relief package through Congress, oversaw a testing program that ramped up exponentially in his first months in office, and encouraged or mandated masks where he could, including on planes and other public transport.
Sixty-three percent of Americans are now fully vaccinated and nearly all schools have in-person instruction. And while the Supreme Court this month blocked his administration from requiring large businesses to mandate their workers get vaccinated or test weekly, many companies have instituted vaccine and testing requirements regardless.
But after Biden predicted that the Fourth of July last year would “begin to mark our independence from this virus,” the delta and omicron variants drove up cases, hospitalizations and deaths — and overwhelmed U.S. hospitals.
Shifting guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a testing shortage amid the omicron surge led public health experts to criticize his administration. A group of Senate Democrats said “far too many measures” his White House had taken “have been reactive, rather than proactive.”
And fewer Americans than ever now approve of the way Biden is handling COVID.
“If you take a look,” Biden said earlier this month, “we’re very different today than we were a year ago, even though we still have problems.”
On Tuesday, a White House official said, the Biden administration would make 400 million non-surgical N95 masks available to Americans for free and a government website went live allowing them to order free at-home tests.
Economy surges, but inflation hampers economic recovery
Biden delivered on two key economic promises: a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package and a $1.2 trillion infrastructure law that passed with bipartisan support.
He presided over the economy’s resurgence last year, with a record 6.4 million jobs created, rising wages and low unemployment — dropping to just 3.9% in December.
But inflation was up a record 6.8% over the course of the year, outpacing wage growth for many Americans.
The White House initially labeled rising prices temporary in nature, and this month said they expected price jumps to moderate this year.
Global supply chain headaches have also led to shipping delays, although most packages reached consumers on time for the holidays.
Legislative priorities stalled
While his infrastructure bill marked a major win, Biden ended his first year in office with two top domestic priorities, his nearly $2 trillion “Build Back Better” social plan and a pair of voting rights bills, stalled in the Senate despite passing the House.
That’s in large part due to the intransigence of two key Democratic senators, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona.
The pair’s opposition to changing Senate rules — over Biden’s pleas — has allowed Republicans to block legislation that would widen access to voting and federal oversight of elections.
Meanwhile, the president’s negotiations with Manchin on the social spending plan — which includes universal preschool, expanding the child tax credit, an historical investment in climate policies and more health coverage, among other policies — hit a roadblock last month.
Biden had pledged to take on climate change and racial equity as key priorities, and while he has signed executive orders aimed at both, legislative pushes — climate action in the “Build Back Better” bill, and police reform measures — have failed to garner bipartisan support despite Biden’s pledge to soften political divisions.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden would continue to “advocate for both” voting rights and the “Build Back Better” bill.
“You don’t get everything done in the first year,” she said.
‘America is back’
The president traveled twice to Europe last year, declaring to allies that “America is back,” reaffirming traditional relationships and returning the U.S. to international organizations and agreements like the World Health Organization and Paris climate accord.
Seeking to end America’s involvement in Afghanistan, he withdrew troops from the country before the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks — but in the chaotic final days, a terror attack killed 13 American service members.
He has found it difficult to bring Iran back to the agreement over its nuclear program, which Trump scrapped, while North Korea has continued to test missiles despite U.S. misgivings.
As he juggles long-term competition with China and bringing about worldwide consensus on fighting climate change, Biden has in recent months found one of his most acute foreign policy challenges to be Russia’s military build-up on its border with Ukraine.
Biden has threatened severe consequences — economic and otherwise — should Russian President Vladimir Putin decide to invade.
Hope of unity hits political reality
Just two weeks after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Biden stood on the building’s steps for his inauguration and preached about the need for unity.
Biden predicted Republicans would have an “epiphany” after Trump left office, but that has not materialized. In an ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted in late December, 71% of Republicans said they sided with Trump’s false claims that he was the rightful winner of the 2020 election.
Trump’s lies about the election — and politicization of the pandemic — continue to guide Republicans, both in Washington and across the country.
And Biden this month used his strongest language yet to describe Republicans opposed to passing voting rights bills, comparing those opposed to his measures to notorious racial segregationists.
ABC News’ Karen Travers contributed to this report.
Britney Spears is threatening legal action against her sister Jamie Lynn, if she doesn’t stop talking about her while promoting her new book, Things I Should Have Said.
Through her attorney Matthew S. Rosengart, the “Toxic” singer, 40, sent a cease and desist letter, which was obtained by ABC News, to Jamie Lynn, 30, stating that she will not be “exploited” for her sister’s “monetary gain.”
“As you know, I represent your sister Britney Spears, and I write at her request concerning the above-referenced matter. We write with some hesitation because the last thing Britney wants is to bring more attention to your ill-timed book and its misleading or outrageous claims about her,” the letter begins. “Although Britney has not read and does not intend to read your book, she and millions of her fans were shocked to see how you have exploited her for monetary gain. She will not tolerate it, nor should she.”
Rosengart goes on point out how the pop star was the “breadwinner” of the family and “also otherwise supported” Jamie before reminding her of the “abuse and wrongdoing” Britney has already been through.
“…Having endured a 13-year conservatorship that stripped her of civil rights and fundamental liberties, Britney will no longer be bullied by her father or anyone else,” reads the letter.
Rosengart also attempted to use the Zoey 101 alum’s own words against her, adding that she “recently reportedly stated that the book was ‘not about [Britney].'”
“We, therefore, demand that you cease and desist from referencing Britney derogatorily during your promotional campaign,” the letter reads. “If you fail to do so or defame her, Britney will be forced to consider and take all appropriate legal action.”
(NEW YORK) — Here are the scores from Tuesday’s sports events:
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Minnesota 112, New York 110
Golden State 102, Detroit 86
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Buffalo 3, Ottawa 1
Washington 4, Winnipeg 3 (OT)
Carolina 7, Boston 1
NY Islanders 4 Philadelphia 3 (SO)
Vancouver 3, Nashville 1
Final Montreal 5, Dallas 3
Calgary 5, Florida 1
Tampa Bay 6, Los Angeles 4
Columbus at NY Islanders 7
Detroit at Philadelphia (Postponed)
Chicago at Edmonton (Postponed)
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Baylor 77, West Virginia 68
Florida St. 79, Duke 78
Kansas 67, Oklahoma 64
Wisconsin 82, Northwestern 76
Houston 74, South Florida 55
Texas Tech 72, Iowa St. 60
Ohio St. 83, IUPUI 37
Loyola Chicago 77, Evansville 48
Kansas St. 66, Texas 65
Tennessee 68, Vanderbilt 60
UConn 76, Butler 59
Providence at Seton Hall (Postponed)
(NEW YORK) — New York City’s surge of COVID-19 cases fueled by the omicron variant appears to be falling just as quickly as it rose.
Tens of thousands of infections are still being reported every day, and the test positivity rate is still above 20%. However, after cases increased 26-fold in just one month, they have now fallen by 17% over the last week, an ABC News analysis found.
After recording a peak of 50,803 COVID-19 cases on Jan. 3, just 9,202 cases were reported on Jan. 14, according to data from the New York City Department of Health & Mental Hygiene.
In addition, hospitalizations are declining, and the number of wastewater samples that have detected the virus have also plunged.
“Infections are coming down, even visits to the emergency room are coming down,” Dr. Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist with the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, told ABC News. “And usually we see when there is a surge, we see visits to the emergency rooms going up.”
Mokdad, who helps lead a model that projects COVID-19 cases around the country, added, “All the indications of the people being tested and found to be positive show that [omicron] appears on its way down.”
On Dec. 2, the first case of omicron tied to New York City was reported in a Minnesota resident who had traveled to the Big Apple in November to attend an anime convention.
From there, COVID-19 cases began spiking. Within two weeks, the city was reporting an average of nearly 7,600 infections per day, up from 1,600 per day.
Studies have since shown that omicron is more likely to pass between vaccinated people than prior variants, though vaccines still dramatically reduce the risk of severe illness.
Coupled with the cold weather and people gathering for the holidays, Mokdad said it is no surprise the virus spread as quickly as it did.
Even coronavirus levels in wastewater samples were showing that a surge was coming, according to wastewater analytics company Biobot.
“The scale of the amount of virus that was detected in wastewater was far greater than any point in the pandemic, so much so that [the company] had to rebuild some of the graphs around the scales, because so much more virus was being collected more than any time,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist who is a member of Biobot’s board of advisers and an ABC News contributor. “It gave us that early sense that we were going to deal with this massive surge.”
However, there are signs the city may have hit its omicron peak.
New York City has been reporting nearly 11 straight days of COVID-19 case declines and is averaging about 15,000 new infections per day, down from roughly 36,000 just two weeks ago.
In yet another sign that the city’s surge may be ebbing, New York City no longer holds the nation’s highest case rate — Rhode Island now does, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hospitalizations have also declined from an average of 992 new admissions on Jan. 6 to 496 as of Jan. 15, according to the city’s health department.
Mount Sinai Health System, one of New York City’s largest hospital systems, has seen new daily COVID-19 hospital admissions remain relatively flat over the last week to 10 days. About one-third of patients are admitted for other reasons and then test positive during their stays, Dr. Bernard Camins, medical director for infection prevention at Mount Sinai, told ABC News.
He said hospitalizations will not significantly come down until two or three weeks from now, because they are a lagging indicator.
“When people get sick enough with COVID, now they are going to come into the hospital, and it does take a delay,” Camins said. “Sometimes people start having symptoms but they’re not sick enough to need the hospital until Day 7 or 10 days later.”
He added, “Eventually the ones who were coming into the hospital with ‘moderate symptoms’ or maybe severe enough to need oxygen, it does take them a few more days lag in terms of needing ventilators.”
A rapid rise in cases followed by a dramatic decline is similar to what has been seen in other countries that detected omicron before the U.S.
In South Africa, where the variant was first identified, the surge looked like an “ice pick,” according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. In early December, the country was averaging about 10,000 cases per day, quickly rising to 20,000 by mid-December.
But, by early January, when New York City was experiencing its peak, the average number of COVID-19 infections in South Africa had already fallen to about 8,000 per day.
“What we know and are certain about from data from South Africa and the U.K., when omicron takes hold in a location, it takes about a month to go up and a month to come down,” Mokdad said.
Even though the surge is not entirely over yet, Mokdad said New York’s decline is a signal for the rest of the country, with the Midwest about one week behind and the West Coast two or three weeks behind.
The University of Washington’s own model suggests that the U.S. will peak at about 1.2 million cases Jan.17, and then all states will be on their way down by the end of January, Mokdad said, adding that he is still encouraging vaccination and mask-wearing.
“Everybody who’s out and about will be infected by then,” he said. “This is like infecting everybody out there, so basically, it’s running out of people to infect and it’s going to start coming down because there’s no more people to infect.”
AWOLNATION will soon be adding some new “Wind” to their “Sail.”
The Aaron Bruno-led outfit has announced an upcoming cover of the Scorpions power ballad classic “Wind of Change,” due out this Friday, January 21. Not only that, but the recording will also feature Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd and Portugal. the Man.
“Wind of Change,” Scorpions’ biggest U.S. hit, was originally released in 1991, and became synonymous with the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union. The song resurfaced in 2020 thanks to a podcast that explored the rumor that “Wind of Change” had been written by the CIA.
Earlier this year, Bruno teased that he planned to release a covers album, along with a new, original AWOLNATION record, later in 2022. The most recent AWOLNATION album is 2020’s Angel Miners & the Lightning Riders.
When Jordan Davis wrote “Buy Dirt,” he originally had Luke Bryan in mind to pitch it to. But once the song was complete, Jordan knew he had to be a part of it, instead turning it into a collaboration with Luke.
“I didn’t know when we were going to release songs again, and I knew Luke was looking for songs. I was like, ‘Guys, let’s write something in that vein.’ And then we finished it and I was like, ‘Alright, I can’t let this song go.’ But I also couldn’t get Luke singing on it out of my mind,” Jordan explains of the process writing with his brother Jacob Davis, and Matt and Josh Jenkins. “So I sent him a text message a couple of days after we finished it, asked him if he wanted to be a part of it, and I’m grateful he said yes. It’s just special.”
Luke has previously expressed that while he’s honored to be a part of “Buy Dirt,” he believes Jordan should get the praise for writing the humble song. Jordan says having Luke sing with him is a “bucket list” moment, praising the superstar for elevating the song that’s so meaningful to him.
“Let’s be real, I do think ‘Buy Dirt’s’ a special song, and I’m a little biased. But Luke brings that thing to it that like hammers it home, and it was just as much a bucket list thing for me to have a song out with Luke,” he shares. “It’s better with Luke on it, and I truly believe that.”
“Buy Dirt” is nearing the #1 spot on country radio. It’s featured on Jordan’s 2021 EP of the same name.
Kevin Mazur/One Love Manchester/Getty Images for One Love Manchester
The late Mac Miller — who was in a relationship with Ariana Grande for nearly two years — would have been 30 today, January 19. A new book about the rapper’s life came out yesterday, and the author says what surprised him the most about writing it was how people described their romance.
Paul Cantor, the author of Most Dope: The Extraordinary Life of Mac Miller, interviewed nearly 100 people over three years. He tells USA Today, “I was really surprised [by] a lot of what was discussed after his passing with regard to his relationship with Ariana. I thought there would be a lot more salaciousness there and there was not.”
“That relationship was very positive and loving between them,” Cantor adds. “Sometimes you talk to people and you think they’re going to tell you crazy stuff. But everything [I was told] was that she was this really positive influence.”
Cantor didn’t interview Ariana herself for the book, but he’s fine with it.
“I tried, but I didn’t get too far,” he explains. “With something like that, I think that experience with him was traumatic for her, as it would be for anyone. I think she was and still is grappling with what occurred.”
Mac appeared on Ariana’s 2013 song “The Way,” which became the first top 10 hit for both of them. They starting dating in August of 2016, and appeared together in the video for Mac’s song “My Favorite Part.” They split in May of 2018.
Mac died September 7, 2018 from an accidental drug overdose. Ariana wrote on Instagram a week later, “i’m so mad, i’m so sad i don’t know what to do. you were my dearest friend…i’m so sorry i couldn’t fix or take your pain away.” She later referred to him as “an angel” in her hit “thank u, next.”
It’s been almost two years since Elton John‘s Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour was sidelined because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the trek relaunches tonight in New Orleans, the first show of a lengthy two-part 2022 North American leg.
With the U.S. and many other areas around the world still dealing with COVID-related issues because of the easily spread Omicron variant, Elton’s longtime guitarist and music director Davey Johnstone tells ABC Audio he doesn’t know if the tour will go off without postponements, but he says every precaution is being made to help ensure the musicians and crew remain healthy.
“It seems it changes so much, and we’ve got to kind of be ready for anything,” Johnstone says regarding the COVID situation. “So, I know there’s no backstage, there’s no guests. There are no backstage passes. There are no wives or girlfriends or anything…[E]verybody’s [going to be] super masked up and getting tested every two days to make sure everybody on the tour stays safe.”
He adds, “I think there’s like a hundred people [who] travel around, between the crew and the production staff and…the band and all that. So it’s a lot of people to keep safe. So…it’ll be a different animal, but, you know, I think we’ll be OK as long as we can just keep to the program.”
Asked if, after a nearly two-year layoff, there might be some changes to Elton’s set list, Johnstone says he and the other band members are more focused on delivering an exciting show.
“[W]e just get out there and play some kick-a** rock ‘n’ roll, and that’s what we’ll do,” he declares. “And there might be a couple of subtle changes…but nothing too drastic.”
