Mexico crackdown on ‘digital nomads' after protest over rising rents
Most of the protestors were peaceful but forthright in their chanting and slogans.
But some left a trail of destruction in their wake, smashing up businesses and even harassing foreigners.
Mexico's relatively relaxed pandemic restrictions saw a large influx of new residents. So-called 'digital nomads' were actively encouraged to move to the country, to take advantage of relatively cheap living standards.
But protestors believe the government's enticement has priced out locals, and caused a flood of short let and AirBnB properties in desirable, central neighbourhoods.
In response, the city of almost 23 millions' mayor is promising rent controls.
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NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
I wore a glucose tracker to monitor my holiday weight gain - here's what happened
Going to a Mediterranean country wasn't cheating. Yes, there's plenty of fresh vegetables and your food is more likely cooked in olive oil than butter, making it better for your heart and your skin. But there's also deep fried feta, chips inside of massive pita wraps, huge trays of baklava, and many different kinds of spirits to contend with. I went to Athens and then an island, with two friends and my boyfriend, who, thanks to spending a lot of time in the gym, usually eats about 4000 calories a day. Foodwise I pretty much kept up with him for the whole trip away. For breakfast on our first day I had a huge bowl of creamy full-fat Greek yoghurt, topped with tahini, banana, honey and nuts. Lunch was a halloumi souvlaki, stuffed with chips and some kind of delicious yellow sauce. I split a box of baklava as a snack with one of my friends and then for dinner, I had a huge bowl of orzo with mushrooms, a side of (more) chips, and dessert, a platter of Greek treats split between the four of us. In true first-night-away style we got through five litres of wine. In our defence, it was €11 ($21) a jug. (Then I went back to our AirBnB and ate four croissants meant for the morning to soak it up). I might have earned some of that with a walk up the Acropolis (thankfully, we hadn't planned it for the morning afterwards) but the rest of the holiday was spent lazing about. We all took it a bit easier on the booze but made up for it in food. Most mornings started with Greek yoghurt, but the nights ended with huge dinners, snacks afterwards, and a dessert like loukoumades (donuts covered in hard sugar) to finish. At home I try not to snack too much (a rule of keeping your blood sugar in check) but while I was away I ate anything I stumbled across that looked half-tasty. All in all, I totally pigged out and I drank more than I do in an average month. What would this blip in my usual moderate lifestyle mean for my health in the long run? How bad is it really to gain a few pounds on holiday? I'm not here to tell you to starve on holiday. As personal trainer Dalton Wong helpfully puts it, 'losing holiday weight is easy, but you'll never get back the time that you spend away'. Yet the truth is that a sudden jump in weight can be jarring. When I got on the scale after my week in Greece, I weighed a full half a stone (3kg) more than I had done when I left. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bother me. Did all the cheese and pita bread I ate really do that much damage? Probably not, Wong says. 'That jump won't just be fat but also water retention, caused by eating a lot of salty food, and probably a bit of fat depending on how much you've eaten,' he explains. If you're someone who does a lot of strength training, 'you might even put on a bit of lean muscle mass, because you're giving your muscles the good rest and nutrients that they need to actually grow'. As Wong often reassures his clients, you would have to eat a truly enormous amount of food to put on half a stone of fat in a week. A single pound (45 grams) of fat gained requires 'about 500 extra calories every day on top of the amount you need to maintain your weight,' he explains. As such, the reality is that a week of overindulgence likely won't make you gain more than two or three pounds at most, even if, like me, you've ended up reaching to the back of your wardrobe for an extra pair of trousers. I think I ate at least 4000 calories a day. To maintain my weight I need about 2000, roughly what I eat when I'm at home. It's not all as simple as calories in, calories out, either, however. 'Your body has a set point that it really wants to stay at,' says nutritionist Jenna Hope. Once you return from holiday, your body works hard to bring your weight back down to its usual levels, a process that can be masked by water weight and constipation. 'A week or two, or even three, outside of your norm might not actually cause weight gain at all, because you aren't causing any long-term changes to your metabolic activity,' so long as you go back to your normal habits. For this reason, Wong advises that you 'avoid weighing yourself for four weeks after you get home,' he says. 'Anything you see differently in the scales then might be actual fat, but until then, what you're seeing likely isn't real weight gain.' Sure enough, after a week back at home I was only 3 pounds (1.5kg) heavier than I was when I landed in Athens; after a month, I was back to my usual weight. Given the power of your set point, shifting the weight can be as simple as 'going for an extra walk after lunch,' says Wong. If you really are concerned about putting on weight on holiday, 'either eat or drink your calories,' he advises. 'Have the extra cocktail or the slice of cake, not both. You'll likely be satisfied with one and feel a bit healthier afterwards.' What happens on the inside? The scales don't tell the full story, however. Studies that examine what a week of overindulgence does to your body only present bad news. One Oxford University study reveals that three weeks of eating badly is enough to raise your risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Their participants were fed a diet high in sat-fats (crisps, cheese, chocolate and pizza) for 24 days, and while their weight didn't budge, their cholesterol levels spiked by 10%, and the fat in their liver increased by a fifth. A summer trip can also give you an 'obese brain', another recent paper from the University of Tubingen in Germany found (clearly, holiday-spoiling is a flourishing academic niche). Just five days of eating a poor diet is enough to cause changes to our brains that outlive 'the timeframe of the consumption', reports professor Stephanie Kullmann. After eating an extra 1000 calories a day for five days, 'the brain and behaviour response resemble that of a person with obesity and changes in the brain seem to occur prior to weight gain'. What can also change quickly is our gut microbiome. 'A week or two weeks of eating differently and not getting enough fibre is long enough to see some changes in the makeup of your gut,' says Hope. The happiness of your gut is a core to good energy levels, proper digestion, immune function and even keeping you in a good mood. Spending time away in a totally different food environment is part of why we can come back from holiday feeling more sluggish and constipated than ever before. From the food log before and after my holiday, and while I was away, it's clear that I was eating more than I usually would for a few weeks on either side. I'd have an extra pint of beer or glass of wine on a Wednesday and I'd often veer towards something heavy in fat and salt and therefore attractive to my 'obese brain' for dinner post-holiday. I'm sure that my gut was not impressed. 'If you go away multiple times a year, it can be really hard to reset and not slide into bad habits,' Hope says. Fortunately, this is easily avoided. 'Preparing your breakfasts and lunches for the week that you're back home can be really helpful, as it removes the element of spontaneous choice and helps you make better decisions,' says Hope. 'It can be really helpful to order a grocery shop to arrive on the day that you're back.' To make it even easier for yourself, 'try having a healthy breakfast on the days that you're away, rather than diving into the hotel buffet and having everything you can see,' she adds. Having one healthy meal a day makes it much easier to get back to normal once you're home, and if it's high in protein, you won't instantly reach for a snack as soon as you leave your hotel. (And if you're in the land of thick, creamy Greek yoghurt, like I was, it won't feel like a sacrifice.) Will a holiday raise your blood sugar? Blood sugar monitors are increasingly being worn by people who aren't diabetic. The way they work is that you stick them into your arm (there's a small needle, but you can't feel it once it's in), and then you can monitor the amount of sugar that's in your blood after you've eaten from an app on your phone. Ups and downs are normal, but dramatic spikes after meals or prolonged periods of super-high blood sugar can indicate insulin resistance. This is a sign that your body is struggling to handle the amount of sugar you're feeding it, and is a precursor for type 2 diabetes. Discovering the foods that 'spike' you can help you prevent this in the long term, and this can also help you to avoid the sluggishness and fatigue caused by the crashes that follow. It was interesting to see that a typical day in Greece eating a lot of carby and sugary foods made my blood sugar soar. But I can't say it made me behave any differently. I did get a few weird looks from other tourists and it does ruin the bikini photos. The really useful bit came when I looked at my results after landing in Britain. I wore my patch, from Lingo by Abbott before, during, and after my holiday. In the week that I came home, my average blood sugar fell to being 95% lower than it had been while I was away. At first I was shocked. Clearly my body had gone into panic mode because of how much I'd eaten. The stats sound dramatic on paper but in both cases, my average blood sugar remained in a 'healthy' range overall, only briefly rising or falling to unhealthy levels. Such a return to normal is a good sign: 'this shows that you're in good metabolic health and that your body is responding with insulin in a normal way,' says Sophie Bertrand, Abbott's nutritionist. Your blood sugar levels are a result of homeostasis, the complex bodily process that keeps us functioning as normal. It's hard to disrupt this process in a serious way by overeating for a week, Bertrand says. If you're in your 20s and have a BMI that marks you as healthy, like me, then you can eat whatever you like for a short while and be fine in this regard, but this process works less well as you age. Seeing its effects was helpful. 'Someone who's older might find that they have more problems bringing their blood sugar down to normal,' says Bertrand. Over time, this is an issue that can raise your chances of developing insulin resistance, a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. About 40% of us in Britain are insulin resistant. With this in mind I'll probably start approaching holidays a bit differently as I age. But regardless of your health, there are ways to get back to normal more quickly regardless of your age. Again, a protein-rich breakfast is king: 'this will help to avoid big fluctuations in your blood sugar throughout the day,' says Bertrand. 'Your sleep is also really important in keeping your blood sugar levels stable. Take the opportunity to grab a few more hours each night than you might at home.' Regardless of what you're eating or how much you're sleeping, a quick walk after dinner can work well 'to balance out your blood sugar' too. Besides, the chance to let loose can be good for us. Regularly going on holiday can lower your chances of dying from heart disease in the long run, and can also bring improvements to your blood sugar and 'good' cholesterol levels. As Bertrand puts it, 'a week of treats is much better than a routine filled with less healthy food or binges that follow restricting yourself too severely'. Do you need to worry about your step count? All of this ignores a fact that's fundamental to the concept of holidays: a week or more of relaxation does us provable good. Stress – both the physical and mental kind – can wreak havoc on our health. If you're the kind of person who exercises a lot, a week spent abstaining from lifting heavy weights or sprinting on the treadmill, presents a much-needed break for your joints and muscles. As a result, 'some of the weight you put on while you're on holiday might well be lean muscle mass,' says Wong. That said, keeping your step count up can actually offset the potential damage done to your health by eating outside of the norm. 'Going for a walk before or after dinner is a good way to help bring your blood sugar back down to a healthy range,' says Bertrand. And what's more, you'll probably find it easier to get them in while you're away than you do at home. I certainly did: my average steps per day are 12,000 as per my health tracker, but I got in 15,000 a day in Athens, and it didn't occur to me that I was exercising. Do I regret letting loose on holiday? Not at all. As Jenna Hope says, the really crucial thing for your health is how quickly you go back to normal after your holidays, and making sure that you don't live with your 'holiday brain' between them. Next time I go away, I'll be sure to plan some healthy meals for the week that I get back, and I'll try to find ways to keep my step count up while I'm away too, to counter the effects of eating badly. I'm not sure that I'd take a glucose tracker with me again, but it's certainly helpful to know that beer spikes me more than wine, and that baklava does less damage than chips. Best of all is that, having looked at the changes to my body, I now know that with some thought, I can keep enjoying holidays the way I want for the rest of my life. Lauren's diet: At home v abroad At work Breakfast: Greek yoghurt (low fat) with raspberries and chia seeds Lunch: Tofu or eggs with some veg and rice Dinner: A bowl of pasta, a stir fry or vegetarian chilli Snacks: Some fruit or a protein bar Alcohol: I try to keep drinking for the weekend. I'll have a couple of glasses of wine or a few pints of beer most Fridays and Saturdays Exercise: A 30 minute run in the morning or a yoga or pilates class in the evening. I usually manage 10,000 steps a day and I also do strength training twice a week On holiday
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Airbnb host stunned after guest flees stunning farm at sight of Trump-Vance flag nailed to fence post
An AirBnB host was left stunned after guests fled her stunning North Carolina farm after spotting a MAGA flag nailed to a fence on the property. Danielle Durham's luxurious farm stay in Lexington, south of Winston-Salem, offers guests the opportunity to escape the city and experience farm life first hand. The Outskirts of Heaven Farm, where the average stay costs $170 per night, is a rural oasis where visitors can horseback ride, hike, swim and interact directly with animals. Guests rave about Durham's charming home which they say is run by 'good, down to earth people' who have made the farm a 'fantastic retreat for the whole family'. So it's unsurprising that Durham was flabbergasted last week after a guest checked in and decided to leave just five minutes later. 'Our AirBnB guest said there is no way she could stay somewhere like this,' Durham said as she panned across the farm's beautiful landscape in a now-viral video. 'Because she saw this...' the host continued, before stopping the camera on a small flag supporting Donald Trump and JD Vance 's 2024 election campaign that had been pinned to the fencing of an animal pen on the property. Durham claimed the guest then 'got in her car and drove away, and left', leaving farm dog Zoey - who features in the clip - feeling 'sad'. Durham was soon attacked by progressives suggesting anyone with different politics to them should be canceled. Some allege it would be 'unsettling' to stay in a place where guests are 'greeted by signs that signal exclusion, extremism, and a disregard for many people's dignity'. Others argue Durham and her team have 'terrible politics should not be supported'. A few went as far as saying they 'would have stayed here in a heartbeat' but would no longer even considered it because Durham 'posted her political views for all to see and they do not mesh well with my morals'. But the host - who has received dozens of raving reviews from former guests - does not seem too bothered by the campaign to attack her business. In another video posted Sunday, Durham directly called out 'everyone trying to cancel the farm because of my sign'. 'I took it down. I'm going to make a new TikTok, right Chip Chip?' she said as she showcased a cute little pig who lives on the farm. 'Tell everybody you love them, Chippy,' she added before launching into an montage highlighting all of the glamour the property has to offer. Guests can 'wake up to animals right outside your window', she captioned a photo of a bedroom outfitted in farmhouse-inspired décor. She also showcased the property's 'cute breakfast nook', large living space, another bedroom and the home's exterior. 'All animal lovers welcome!' she added, before promoting the property's hiking trails, fishing area, river, hammock napping area, campfire pit and in-ground swimming pool. The clip ends with a close-up on Chippy the pig, who is seen sticking his snot near the break in the white fence. The only sign left in sight is one baring a drawing of a pig that reads, 'every butt deserves to be rubbed'. Although several MAGA critics have slammed Durham for putting her alleged political affiliations on display at the farm, many social media users have also rushed to her defense. 'If you get mad over a political view and hate this place soley (sic) over that… you are literally what's wrong with the world. Hypocritical as can be and the amount of cognitive dissonance it requires is pathetic,' one person wrote on the farm's Facebook page. 'Get a life and go do something that actually matters and makes a difference because these people are.' A veteran echoed the sentiment, writing: '10 stars beautiful property. 'People should stop harassing a lovely business just bc you don't agree with them politically. It's not left or right. 'We're all American. I didn't join the military to protect the constitution only for those I agree with politically.' 'As a business owner myself I have received the same exact backlash as this owner has. 'It must be really exhausting to literally sit there and ask every place of business who they voted for,' another sympathized. ''I bet some businesses even LIE to you just to get your business and you wouldn't even know it! Jokes on you. Keep on representing America and keep American businesses thriving.'
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Jay Slater's family hope to get the answers they want as inquest set to resume
An inquest into Jay Slater's death was paused earlier this year after key witnesses failed to attend and Jay's mum, Debbie Duncan, wept and pleaded 'bring these people in front of us" The inquest into the death of Jay Slater will resume next week - after his tearful mum pleaded with key witnesses to attend. Jay, 19, went missing in June last year after attending a music festival in Playa de las Americas in Tenerife. His disappearance sparked intense social media speculation, with wild conspiracy theories spread by online sleuths and trolling of his friends and family. The search came to a tragic end a year ago this week, July 15, four weeks after he vanished, when police discovered his body in a remote ravine. When the inquest started, in May, Preston Coroner's Court heard some of Jay's friends and other witnesses 'could not be located' despite months-long police efforts to find them. His mother Debbie Duncan wept as she asked senior coroner Dr James Adeley to 'bring these people in front of us'. Two of the friends he had travelled to the island with, Lucy Law and Bradley Geoghan (also known as Bradley Hargreaves), were on holiday, the court heard. The Metropolitan Police had also tried to locate Ayub Qassim and Steven Roccas, who were renting an AirBnB which Jay travelled to, but neither man could be found. Miss Duncan said in court: 'How can we ever get any understanding? There's things we want to question. We want these people to be sat in front of us, because our son went on holiday and didn't come back, so there's questions we need to ask.' Dr Adeley agreed to pause the hearing saying: 'In view of your distress we will make attempts to find them using whatever means we can.' Now the hearing is due to resume next Thursday (July 24) to hear a further two days of evidence - with Jay's family hoping they will finally get the answers they want. The inquest has already heard Jay, from Oswaldtwistle, Lancs, died after he fell into a ravine in Tenerife. The apprentice bricklayer's body was found by Spanish police in a remote national park on July 15, with severe head injuries consistent with a fall from height. According to toxicology reports and his own messages, Jay had been under the influence of drugs and alcohol, with traces of MDMA, cocaine and ketamine in his system when he died - although it was not clear how long before his death he had taken them. The inquest also heard he sent messages to friends on social media referring to being with 'two kids' who had stolen a 'luxury' watch from someone and had sent a picture of himself with two knives. Jay was driven to the AirBnB in the remote village of Masca, around 22 miles (36km) away from where he was staying. He was last heard from around 8.30am on the morning of June 17, when he called Lucy Law and told her he was lost and had 1% battery on his phone. One witness who did attend, Joshua Forshaw, said he had got chatting to Jay and his friends at the airport. He told the court the last time he saw him was at the Papayago nightclub, which was hosting the NRG music festival, on the night of June 16, 2024. He said: 'It wasn't long after the event had started. He seemed to be in a happy mood, joyful to be there.' The coroner pointed out that in his original statement Mr Forshaw had described Mr Slater as appearing to be 'off his head' on drugs. Mr Forshaw said he believed Jay had drunk a lot of alcohol, but was unsure about what drugs he had taken. He said the last time he saw him Jay told him 'some kids had just took an AP off somebody' and that he was 'on his way to sell it for 10 quid'. He said AP referred to a luxury watch brand and quid was a 'code for a grand [£1,000]'. Hours later, when he was in bed, Mr Forshaw received a video from Jay showing him in an area of mountains, which he said was between 05:50 and 07:20 on June 17. He also told the inquest Jay sent him a picture of himself with 'two knives in his trousers', alongside the caption 'in case it kicks off'. The court also heard a local man, Ramon Hernandez, recalled meeting Jay on the morning of June 17 in Masca. He said Jay asked if a bus or taxi would take him to Los Cristianos, and they told him the next bus was due at 10am and the area did not have a taxi service. Dr Richard Shepherd, a consultant forensic pathologist, told the court Mr Slater's cause of death was likely severe head injury. Asked if there were any signs of restraint or assault he said: 'The patterns of injuries when someone is assaulted or restrained or held or pushed are very different from the types of injuries or patterns I saw with Jay, so I saw nothing to suggest that was the case. ' He said it was not possible to completely rule out a push, as that would not leave a mark, but added there was 'nothing to suggest there was an assault, gripping, holding or anything of that sort'.
