Den, 90, is on a 51-year run
Ditching meat and dairy two days a week could aid weight loss and balance insulin levels, discovers
A 90-YEAR-OLD athlete ran a seven-mile cross-country course for the 51st year in a row – despite Covid halting the race.
Dennis Adelsberg has been at every Parbold Hill race since it began in 1970.
Virus restrictions scrapped this year’s but Dennis – who drinks tea with six sugars en route – ran the course anyway, to raise cancer research funds in memory of his friend Richard Petherick.
He said: “The wind was so violent. It feels like you’re running backwards.”
Dennis finished the hilly course near Ormskirk, Lancs in three hours and paid tribute to builder Richard – the brother-in-law of his daughter Gill: “He was only 51...a wonderful fella.”
Dennis began running aged seven, competing with dad Harold, and cuts off the front of his trainers for comfort.
MORE than 30,000 motor racing fans watched in horror as the US Daytona 500 ended in a fiery pile-up.
Miraculously, no one was injured at the Florida-based contest.
Eventual winner Michael McDowell, 36, had been tailing Penske team mates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano when they crashed and burst into flames.
Other competitors were unable to steer clear of the burning cars and the event descended into chaos during the last of 200 laps of the 500-mile race. Keselowski hinted that Logano was to blame and said: “Don’t feel like I made a mistake, but I can’t drive everyone else’s car.”
Earlier there had been a less dramatic crash, followed by a six-hour delay when lightning and heavy rain made the conditions unsafe for driving.
The Daytona 500 has been run continuously for 60 years. It is Nascar’s most prestigious event with total prize money of more than £14million.
A TOURIST is ecstatic after learning the crayon drawing he bought from a market stall in Ecuador for 73p is worth a staggering £10,000.
Santiago Taute, 39, snapped up the work in 2001 and stored it in Spain when he moved to the UK in 2013.
It was finally shipped over recently when Santiago’s wife Delia, 31 – an art buff – clapped eyes on it for the first time.
She thought it looked similar to the work of Welsh artist Lee Hadwin, 46. Lee has a rare condition which means he can draw and paint while asleep and has made millions from it, including £100,000 from customer Donald Trump. The artist, above, confirmed Santiago’s bargain is his work, entitled Bolide, and valued it for him.
But engineer Santiago is not cashing in just yet – the couple have hung it at home in Aldershot, Hants. Delia said: “It’s a one in a million story.”
RIO Ferdinand is among stars backing a £370,000 fundraising drive to help a young girl fight a brain tumour.
The former Manchester United ace is supporting Lily McKelvey’s family who hope pioneering US treatment can tackle the six-year-old’s rare diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.
Former EastEnders actress Patsy Palmer and Made In Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh have joined Rio. They shared Lily’s story with their teams of social media followers to help her parents Jack and Lizzie reach their target.
Well-wishers had given nearly £150,000 by yesterday – but the appeal needs £220,000 more in six weeks if she is to join the trials.
Rio, 42, tweeted her fundraising page link with the plea: “PLZ help support Lily with life-saving treatment.”
Her father Jack said: “It’s really helpful because they’ve got millions of followers. Even if they donate a pound, it’s great.”
He said Lily was in high spirits and fit enough to play in the snow at their Essex home last weekend.
She has had radiotherapy to suppress the tumour but only the US doctors have techniques which may kill the cells.
Jack, 31, said: “She’s really strong, she’s never once moaned – even about the radiotherapy. She just sat there, got on with it. She said it’s fine and found it quite relaxing. “She’s a bit fatigued which is normal after 13 sessions of radiotherapy. But she’s not moaning, trying to play as much as she can.
“We were playing out in the snow – built a snowman and threw snowballs at the house. It took it out of her so she needed a sit down.”
Jack, of Marks Tey, near Colchester, added: “She’s always been spirited and we couldn’t get through this without her being so upbeat. She gives us strength. She’s always happy.”
Lily will have a scan in six weeks and if the radiotherapy has worked, she will fly to New York. Jack said: “This treatment is the only option.We live on our means but we need the money. I’ve got to keep fighting.”
Veganism is one of the fastest growing lifestyle choices globally, with more than 500,000 people pledging to ditch animal products during January – a quarter of them in Britain.
We know plant-based is better for the planet and evidence is mounting that it can lower cholesterol levels, as well as reduce rates of cancer and heart disease.
But going vegan full-time can be hard work, requiring us to put more thought into meals and ditching cakes and chocolate as well as meat.
But you can still dip a toe into the vegan lifestyle and reap the benefits.
According to leading diabetes remission doctor Ian Braithwaite, following a plant-based diet for just two days each week could be sufficient to transform your health – he even goes as far as suggesting it could help reverse type-2 diabetes.
“Committing to being vegan is a drastic lifestyle change and not realistic for everyone,” says Dr Braithwaite, CEO of online diabetes prevention and reversal programme
Habitual. “However, incorporating a vegan diet for just two days a week can help you consume more whole grains, fruits, veg and nuts, as well as limiting the intake of animal products which can contribute to weight gain and the development of diseases like type-2 diabetes.”
It isn’t purely about weight loss though. “Plant-based diets also improve the secretion of insulin in people with type-2 diabetes,” says Dt Braithwaite. Studies have discovered they help increase the production of incretin, the hormone that stimulates insulin secretion after eating food.
“Type-2 diabetes develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin or can’t produce enough to manage high blood sugar levels.
“So incorporating a few more vegan days into your week can help to take control of this problem.”
In addition, the boost plant-based diets give to your fibre intake brings benefits. While the NHS recommends adults consume 30g of fibre every day, on average we consume only 18g. Vegans have been shown to eat closer to 50g.
“Fibre is plentiful in plant-based food and plays an important role in diets, slowing the absorption of sugar and improving blood sugar levels,” says Dr Braithwaite. “It’s why a healthy diet that includes fibre has been found to reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes.”
Addressing type-2 diabetes has never been more urgent. There’s an unpleasant irony to the fact lockdown has contributed to increasing waistbands – almost half of us say we have gained significant weight – while the virus we’re staying in to avoid has a particularly devastating effect on those carrying excess pounds or living with diabetes.
And the pandemic has led to many new cases going undiagnosed.
“The last 12 months have seen many people gain weight, with more than one in three now predicted to be pre-diabetic,” says Dr Braithwaite.
“However, fears of visiting the GP have prevented people from getting the help they need and with levels of diagnosis dropping by 70 per cent, I expect the real figure to be even higher. It is likely more than 100,000 additional people are living with undiagnosed type-2 diabetes in the UK alone.”
So as well getting ourselves checked out, perhaps it really is time we all adopted the vegan 5:2. “Weight is directly related to the onset of type-2 diabetes and it is well reported that a vegan diet can help shed excess pounds,” says Braithwaite. “Avoiding meat and dairy for two days a week will help create healthier habits associated with food for long-term weight loss and maintenance.”
Over a third of Brits are now predicted to be pre-diabetic