Welcome to our all-round guide to good living in the 21st century.

Doctors have long advised people with diverticulosis to steer clear of nuts and foods with small seeds, fearing they might cause severe intestinal complications.

But a study has found that eating these foods not only does not increase the risk of complications, but may even lower the risk of developing the disease. The study, published in the Aug. 27 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first large-scale study of the matter.

About a third of Americans over 60 develop diverticulosis, which causes intense pain in the abdomen and leads to the rupture of small pouches in the colon, called diverticula.

In the study, scientists analyzed data on more than 47,000 men ages 40 to 75 who had no history of the disease at the start of the study. The subjects were followed for the next 18 years, a period in which 800 cases of diverticulitis and about 380 cases of diverticular bleeding were diagnosed.

Those who ate the most nuts, twice a week or more, had a 20 percent lower risk of developing diverticulitis than those who ate the least, while those who ate popcorn at least twice a week had a 28 percent lower risk. They also found no link between any foods and complications.

The authors say the benefits may come from nutrients and fiber in nuts and light popcorn.

Focaccia? Roasted veggies? Sushi? Campus dining hall serves it all — but no meat

DENTON, Texas — Texas cattle country seems an odd place to break new ground in veganism, but a public university near Dallas is doing just that.

The University of North Texas in Denton, known for its jazz program and hipster vibe, has opened an all-vegan full-service campus cafeteria that it and animal-rights activists say appears to be the first in the nation.

After just a week of school, the lines at "Mean Greens" — a play on the UNT Mean Green football team name — snaked out the door.

Students balanced plates of paninis made with fresh focaccia baked at the cafeteria, roasted vegetables, vegetarian sushi, bowls of asparagus soup, glasses of flavored vitamin waters and shot glasses of bananas foster. The hall doesn't serve any animal products including meat, milk or eggs.

"It's healthy. I was trying not to gain the freshman 15, but I actually like it," said Rebecca Arroyo, a freshman from Paris, Texas, who isn't vegan.

The university food czars who masterminded the unusual venue in one of five campus dining halls are finding many of the students who eat there are not vegans but simply want to eat healthy meals.

Animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals agreed, and gave UNT its Compassionate Campus award this month for responding to student requests and supporting veganism, said Ryan Huling, manager of college campaigns for PETA2, the college arm of the organization.

Outside interest
Ken Botts, special projects director at UNT dining services, has fielded inquiries from schools as far off as Germany and as close as Dallas.

Surveys by food services providers such as Bon Appetit and Aramark have shown rising demand for vegan fare. Huling said Aramark's survey of hundreds of schools indicated one in four students were actively seeking vegan options.

Inside Mean Greens, the ambiance is as modern as the menu. The hall is decorated with bold, contemporary graphics in shades of tangerine, lime green and red. Quotes from Gandhi and Einstein line the tops of two walls.

Chef Wanda White, a classically trained pastry chef, puts together imaginative menus, like biscuits with chocolate gravy, and specialty pancakes for breakfast.

Among the 20 dishes at lunch are vegetables that are oven-roasted and then quickly seared on the griddle in full view of the diners -- open-concept dining, cafeteria style.

Another innovation is the use of plates instead of standard-issue cafeteria trays, which cut both waste and water usage by 40 percent, Botts said. That change is being considered at some of UNT's other four dining halls.

It's not all peaches and nondairy cream for everyone, though. Staffer Kent Boring was unimpressed with the fettuccine Alfredo, though conceded that the butter-and-cheese-based dish would be hard to duplicate sans dairy.

But almost everyone was leaving with cones of soy-based soft-serve ice cream, a natural choice in the sweltering first week of school.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

A vegetarian diet can be heart-healthy and nutritious. Learn how easy it can be to change what you eat and help lower your cholesterol levels.

The American Heart Association recommends a diet that is low in saturated fats and trans fats, the types of fat that can raise blood cholesterol. Since cholesterol and saturated fats come primarily from animal foods, one way to adjust your diet for high cholesterol is to start a vegetarian diet.
You don't actually need any cholesterol in your diet, since your body can make all the cholesterol it needs. Studies show that a vegetarian diet can lower your risk for obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and some types of cancer.

Is a Vegetarian Diet Safe and Nutritious?

A well-rounded vegetarian diet can be healthy and nutritionally sound with some careful planning. Here are some tips to make sure you are getting enough essential nutrients:

• Protein. Although foods from animals are important sources of protein, you can get all the protein you need from a vegetarian diet. Soy has been shown to be as rich a source of protein as animal food. Good sources of plant protein include whole grains, vegetables, seeds, and nuts.
• Iron. Red meat is an important source of iron. A vegetarian diet may put you at higher risk for iron deficiency. Make sure to get enough dried beans, spinach, brewer's yeast, and dried fruits in your diet. These are all good sources of iron.
• Vitamin B12. This vitamin only comes naturally from animal foods. Vitamin B12 is important in reducing the risk of heart disease, and vegetarians with low B12 may be at risk. You can make sure to get enough B12 by using fortified products like B12-fortified soy milk or cereal. You can also take a B12 supplement.
• Zinc. This mineral is important for growth and development. Grains, nuts, and legumes are good sources, but you might also consider a zinc supplement.
• Vitamin D. If you don't include dairy in your vegetarian diet and you don't spend much time outdoors, you also may want to supplement vitamin D.

Cooking Tips for High Cholesterol

Even though a vegetarian diet eliminates animal food as a source of cholesterol, you still need to watch out for sources of fat that can raise your cholesterol.

• Trans fats. Many vegetable oils have hydrogen added to them. Hydrogenated oils are high in trans fats that can raise your cholesterol. Read the labels of any butter substitute or cooking oil to make sure there are no trans fats.
• Saturated fats. These fats can raise your cholesterol and are primarily found in animal and dairy products but watch out for coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils which do have saturated fats.
• Heart-healthy oils. Cooking with unsaturated fats found in safflower, corn, olive, canola, and peanut oils can help lower your cholesterol.
• Low-fat cooking. You can sauté in water instead of oil or use just a very small amount of canola or olive oil. Broiling, streaming, poaching, and boiling are better than frying. When you are baking, you can cut your oil or margarine in half and replace it with water, juice, or applesauce.

Vegetarian Diet: Eating Out

Eating out and sticking to your vegetarian diet can be a challenge. Here are some tips to help you:

• Plan in advance. Think about what kind of restaurant you want to go to. International restaurants such as Italian, Chinese, Mexican, Thai, and Japanese tend to have more vegetarian diet selections. There are also restaurants that serve only vegetarian food.
• Call ahead. Inquire about the menu when you make reservations.
• Talk to your server. Don't assume that your server knows that food prepared in chicken stock is not vegetarian or that lard and gelatin are animal products. Be specific about your dietary requirements.
• Ask for a substitution. Many restaurants will gladly substitute meatless pasta or exchange a baked potato for a fried side order. You can request that your meal be prepared from unsaturated oil.

Talking to Your Family About Your Vegetarian Diet

Family members who are unfamiliar with a vegetarian diet may try to discourage you because they think a diet without animal foods is not safe or nutritious. Here are some tips to get their support:

• Educate yourself. Be ready to explain the benefits of a vegetarian diet and to assure family members that a balanced vegetarian diet can be as healthy as a diet that includes animal products.
• Don't preach. You have decided to pursue a vegetarian diet because you think it's a healthier choice, but don't expect to change your family's diet right away.
• Be patient. A vegetarian diet can seem like a radical idea to family members who are not familiar with it.
• Be responsible. Don't expect your family to change their cooking and eating habits and start preparing meals just for you. Be prepared to do your own cooking and shopping.
• Share your food. Once you have convinced your family that a vegetarian diet is healthy, prepare a vegetarian meal once a week to share with them. Show them that a vegetarian diet can also be appetizing and filling.

If you are worried about cholesterol, a vegetarian diet is an option you should consider. Vegetarian diets are low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol. A carefully planned vegetarian diet is good for your heart and can include all the important nutrients you need.

Make a stir-fry with brown rice and you’ll be serving up some diabetes prevention. Researchers in Rome found that a veggie-packed diet lowered insulin resistance-a precursor to diabetes-by 25 percent.
And a study from the Harvard School of Public Health showed that people who ate a cup or more of brown rice a week had an 11 percent lower chance of developing diabetes than those who ate less. “The antioxidants in whole grains and vegetables prevent cell damage,” says SAPE contributing editor Cynthia Sass, R.D., “which can hinder your body’s ability to process insulin.”

Amy’s tip: Try Amy’s Brown Rice and Veggies bowl or Black eyed Pea bowl for a quick and tasty brown rice and veggie combo.

Rich Roll is something of a real-life Popeye, a man whose leafy diet fuels shocking feats of strength. At 43, Roll is a "plant-based athlete" whose vegan diet powered him to a top finish at last year's Ultraman World Championships, an event that crams 6.2 miles of swimming, 261.4 miles of cycling and 52.4 miles of running into three days under searing Hawaiian sun.

Roll was not always a veggie evangelist. For years after his tenure on the NCAA Championship Stanford Swim Team, Roll continued to "see that Stanford athlete in the mirror," even though, he says, that athlete had morphed into an overweight, out-of-shape, middle-aged man. Roll's fitness initially was derailed by a struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. And although he's been sober for more than a dozen years, the demands of raising four children, producing films and practicing entertainment law left little time for his once-core passion for fitness. Then he had a birthday.

"You wake up and you're 40," Roll says. "I realized, 'I feel lousy, I'm overweight, I want to be healthy.'" He started exercising and cut out meat, hoping to accelerate his journey to health. After several months, however, Roll decided vegetarianism wasn't working for him. "My version of a vegetarian diet included lots of pizza, which might have been the problem," he admits. He bought some books on veganism, the practice of eating only plant-based food—no meat, eggs, animal fats or dairy products—and gave that a try. Within a week of eating vegan, Roll says, "I had all this energy. I realized, 'Wow, I could do something with this.'"

Roll decided he'd like to train for the 2008 Ultraman World Championships, an elite, invitation-only race he'd read about. "I had to talk the race director into letting me in. I told her, 'I promise I'll be prepared.'" After a scant six months of training, Roll placed 11th overall in the race.

The story of his transformation from addict to vegan to world-class athlete made Roll an immediate media hit. His recap of the journey was a top story on CNN.com for several days following its publication; Men's Fitness named him one of its "25 Fittest Guys in the World" for 2009. "I got as many as 400 emails from people who said they were inspired, people who were sharing their intimate health struggles as a result of hearing my story."

In partnership with his wife, Julie Piatt, a well-known Los Angeles yoga instructor, Roll is writing a vegan cookbook and hosting retreats to help others transform their lives through diet, exercise and yoga. "I'm realizing that God wants me to help others," Roll says. "That's a feeling I don't get being an attorney."

A landmark court decision means milk—and maybe other food, too—can be clear about its origins.

What you can do: Avoid hormones in milk by buying organic milk, or milk sold by farmers who don't use rbGH.

RODALE NEWS, WASHINGTON, DC—The organic milk industry has won a significant battle with the state of Ohio over consumers' right to know what has been added to the milk their children drink. Or, more exactly, what hasn’t been added. The finding has implications for milk sold in other states, too, and—appropriately enough in non-GMO month—for other foods produced with hormone injections or from genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

In the simplest of terms, this landmark decision of the 6th Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals (by a unanimous decision) allows a carton of milk to be labeled as rbGH-free without any qualifying statements.

THE DETAILS: The synthetic hormone rbGH, recombinant bovine growth hormone, also known as rbST or recombinant somatatropin, is injected into cows, and makes them give more milk than they would naturally. There has been a long-standing argument about whether the injection of the hormone increases the level of a naturally occurring hormone called IGF-1 in the milk, which, in high levels, is believed to be a cancer-causing agent.

Now a fight that has dragged on for 16 years over claims companies want to make when their milk does NOT contain rbGH has finally been settled. Ohio had enacted regulations that would have prevented consumers concerned about hormones in milk from knowing whether milk sold in the state was free of the synthetic hormones. The court said those regulations could not stand.

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave its OK for the use of rbGH in the early 1990s, sales of organic milk began to climb, because organic rules prohibit the use of rbGH in milk production. Soon after the FDA OK, some brands of milk—both organic and conventional—were sold sporting notices that they were produced without the hormone. Farmers using the hormone opposed that claim, and the FDA sided with them, requiring that rbGH-free claims on dairy products had to be accompanied by an asterisk leading to the following statement: “The FDA has determined that no significant difference has been shown between milk derived from rbST supplemented and non rbST supplemented cows.”

I went running with Scott Jurek on a clear, chilly morning last month, an easy four-mile loop in Central Park. He ran another few miles with 50 or so adoring fans, then another few by himself, for a total of about 15. After that he showered and came to my house to cook lunch before going for a late-afternoon jog of another 10 miles or so.

Scott Jurek, an accomplished ultramarathoner, displayed knife skills and good culinary judgment while preparing a meal.

That’s an easy day for Jurek, 36, an accomplished ultramarathoner. But one might say he has been in a slump: he has not won a major race since the 2008 Spartathlon. On the other hand, he set a personal record there, it was his third consecutive victory on the 153-mile course between Athens and Sparta, and he holds the fifth-, sixth- and eighth-fastest times in race history.

If last year was a wash, this year he is fit and psyched for the 24-Hour Run world championship in Brive-la-Gaillarde, France, on Thursday and Friday. It is a grueling race to determine how many miles runners can complete on a 1.4-kilometer road loop (about nine-tenths of a mile) in a 24-hour period.

Jurek says he can break the American record, 162 miles, held by Mark Godale. (The world record, 178 miles, and just about every ultramarathoning record from 100 to 1,000 miles, and from 24 hours to 10 days, are, Jurek said, “unassailably” held by Yiannis Kouros of Greece, who no longer competes.)

To win Brive, Jurek said, he must: “Get on it, crank around it, and get it done. It’s all in a day’s work.”

It’s a long day, and one that raises a particular aspect of Jurek’s training that makes him an especially interesting athlete: he is a vegan, consuming no animal products.

There are other professional athletes who do not eat meat: Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder, a vegetarian, may be the best known, and the hockey player Georges Laraque is also a vegan. But it is difficult for some to comprehend how this lifestyle is compatible with training weeks of 140 miles and more, “easy” runs of 40 miles and interval training that includes uphill three-mile repeats, all culminating in races that are often 100 miles or more, sometimes through deserts or frozen wastelands or up and down mountains.

Jurek certainly looks healthy enough. He is tall, dwarfing most competitive marathoners, not rail thin, with a quick smile and boundless energy. A few hours after our morning run, he showed up at my house and began pulling things out of the refrigerator and pantry with abandon: vegetables, greens, herbs, miso, tofu, olives, shallots, lemons, nut butter and more.

He displayed knife skills and good culinary judgment, preparing a meal for me and his girlfriend, Jenny Uehisa, a designer for Patagonia (he is sponsored by Brooks Sports). We ate a Greek salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, loads of olives and seaweed; a stir-fry of vegetables with tofu and a miso and cashew sauce; and a mound of quinoa.
Where did he learn to cook this way? And more to the point, how does he survive? After all, I said to him, none of my running buddies, a group of nonelite but defiantly dedicated marathoners who train in Central Park, maintain as rigorous a schedule as his, and many claim to have trouble consuming enough calories even while being omnivorous.

“The whole issue,” he said, “is exactly that: getting enough calories. The first thing to worry about isn’t so much what you eat, but how much you eat. You have to take the time to sit at the table and make sure your calorie count is high enough. And when you’re a vegan, to increase your calories as you increase training you need more food. This isn’t an elimination diet but an inclusion diet.”

Jurek grew up in Proctor, Minn., eating cookie dough, canned vegetables and his share of fast food. When his mother, Lynn, developed multiple sclerosis (she died this spring), he and his siblings began cooking, but the food was, he said, “very Midwest — meat and potatoes.” In college, his diet began to improve, and as he “saw how much disease is lifestyle related,” he began eating “real food, eating the way people have been eating for thousands of years.”

He made the transition to less meat and more fish, then eventually knocked out dairy and other animal products entirely.

“It’s really a mental barrier,” he said, and he obviously has experience overcoming those. He said he needed 5,000 to 8,000 calories a day, “and I get that all from plant sources. It’s not hard, either. I like to eat, and I don’t have to worry about weight management. All I need is a high-carbohydrate diet with enough protein and fat.”

He said he spent a great deal of time shopping, preparing and cooking food — and chewing. He is among the slowest and most deliberate eaters I know, and there is something about his determination at the table that is reminiscent of his determination on the road: he just doesn’t stop.

Mark Bittman, who is a vegan until 6 p.m. and a runner at various hours, writes The Minimalist column for The Times, and can be found at markbittman.com.

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A 20 minute walk gives you a blast of pep that lasts all day, reveals new research from The University of Vermont. Though exercise provides an immediate lift, scientists were surprised at the long-lasting effect, because mood-boosting endorphins stay elevated for only a couple of hours. Researchers speculate that the jump-start helps buffer the effects of everyday hassles and stress on your outlook throughout the day.

Bonus: By simply walking 15% faster, you could loose some extra weight and increase your fitness levels. Just by increasing your walking speed from 3.5mph to 4.0 mph, the body burns an extra 80 calories an hour. It also increases lung capacity and improves blood pressure twice as much as strolling does.