Nutrition and Healthy Eating

• Fructose off the Hook for Overweight and Obesity?

  

  Posted 8:06 PM 2/20/2012

  Feb. 20, 2012 -- When it comes to weight gain, fructose should not be singled out for blame, a new review of the scientific literature suggests.

  The review, in the Annals of Internal Medicine, shows that excessive calories -- and not any unique properties of fructose -- are more likely to lead to extra pounds.

  "Is fructose really the source of all metabolic (More)
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• A Common Organic Sweetener May Boost Arsenic Levels in Foods

  

  Posted 3:01 AM 2/16/2012

  Feb. 16, 2012 -- Organic brown rice syrup, a popular sweetener in organic and gluten-free foods -- including some formulas made for toddlers -- is a source of the toxin arsenic, a new study shows.

  Experts say regularly eating foods that use organic brown rice syrup as a main ingredient could expose a person to more arsenic than the (More)
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• Mediterranean Diet May Protect Brain

  

  Posted 7:26 PM 2/13/2012

  Feb 13, 2012 -- Chalk up another possible benefit to following a Mediterranean diet.

  A new study suggests that people who follow a Mediterranean-style diet have less small blood vessel damage in the brain.

  The Mediterranean diet is based on the diets of the (More)
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• Would You Like to 'Downsize' That?

  

  Posted 7:01 PM 2/8/2012

  Feb. 8, 2012 -- Forget "supersize that." Tulane University marketing professor Janet Schwartz, PhD, would like fast-food restaurants to instead ask their customers if they'd like to "downsize that."

  Instead of asking, "Would you like fries with that?" Schwartz says, fast-food restaurants could make a dent in Americans' waistlines if they asked, "How many fries would you like with that?"

  Given the choice, many Americans would opt for smaller (More)
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• Bread and Other Common Foods Top List of Sodium Culprits

  

  Posted 9:07 PM 2/7/2012

  Feb. 7, 2012 -- About 90% of us get too much sodium every day, and most of it comes from common restaurant or grocery store items, the CDC reports. The No. 1 culprit? Bread and rolls.

  Ten foods are responsible for 44% of all of the sodium we get. These include:

  • Breads and rolls
  • Luncheon meats such as deli ham and turkey
  • Pizza
  • Poultry
  • Soups
  • Cheeseburgers and other sandwiches
  • Cheese
  • Pasta (More)
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• School Vending Machines Still Offer Too Many Sugary Snacks

  

  Posted 7:10 PM 2/6/2012

  Feb. 6, 2012 -- About half of elementary school students still have access to sugary snacks and other unhealthy options in school vending machines, according to a new study.

  To combat rising childhood obesity rates, the Institute of Medicine recommended in 2007 that school meal programs be the primary source of (More)
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• Americans Sweet on Sugar: Time to Regulate?

  

  Posted 4:04 PM 2/1/2012

  Feb. 1, 2012 -- Americans are eating unhealthy amounts of sugar, and excess sugar should be regulated like alcohol and tobacco, say researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

  "We are now seeing the toxic downside [of excess sugar intake]," Robert H. Lustig, MD, a professor of clinical pediatrics at the UCSF Center for Obesity Assessment, Study, and Treatment, tells WebMD. "There has to be some sort of societal intervention. We cannot do (More)
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• FDA and EPA: Orange Juice Is Safe to Drink

  

  Posted 7:29 PM 1/30/2012

  (Jan. 30, 2012) -- The FDA is continuing to assure consumers that orange juice is safe to drink, despite possible contamination by carbendazim, a fungicide used by growers in some foreign countries but which is illegal for use on citrus fruits in the United States.

  "FDA is confident that orange juice in the United States may be consumed without concerns," the federal agency said in a news release issued Friday.

  That statement was part of the third (More)
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• Fried Food and No Heart Disease?

  

  Posted 9:30 PM 1/24/2012

  Jan. 24, 2012 -- Eating foods fried in healthier oils such as olive or sunflower is not linked to heart disease or premature death, Spanish researchers have found.

  They followed more than 40,000 adults for 11 years, tracking fried food intake and heart (More)
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• Natural Trans Fats Less Unhealthy Than Manmade Variety

  

  Posted 8:31 PM 1/20/2012

  Jan. 20, 2012 -- All trans fats are not created equal.

  Some are manmade, and have been added to all sorts of foods to increase their shelf life, but others can be found naturally in beef, pork, lamb, butter, and milk. Artery-clogging, manmade trans fats do increase the risk for (More)
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