Q. I constantly read in your publication and others about the importance of keeping...
A. Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, director of Tufts HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, suggests: You should check the restaurants website to see whether nutrition information is available. If it is a smaller, neighborhood restaurant, you can talk to the manager to see whether there are options for lower-sodium preparation if the request is made when ordering. Some restaurants, too, indicate sodium levels on their menus, either with nutrition numbers or heart-healthy logos. Its also important, Lichtenstein…
Q. Does roasting walnuts harm their nutritional value? Is there a reason to prefer...
A. Diane L. McKay, PhD, an assistant professor at Tufts Friedman School, answers: According to the California Walnut Commission , the nutrient profile of...
Q. What is the current thinking about the safety of microwaving food covered by...
A. Samantha Salazar Ordonez, a dietetic intern at Tufts Frances Stern Nutrition Center, replies: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes that substances...
Q. How much green tea should one consume daily to get the benefits I...
A. Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, director of Tufts HNRCA Antioxidants Research Laboratory, answers: The health benefits associated with drinking tea (green, oolong or black) are...
Q. Are there actually health benefits from drinking yerba mat tea? What is yerba...
Q. Are there actually health benefits from drinking yerba mat tea? What is yerba mat, anyway?A. Diane L. McKay, PhD, an assistant professor at...
Q. My physician tells me that I am pre-diabetic, so I am very careful...
A. Anastassios G. Pittas, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism at Tufts Medical Center, responds: The quick answer...
Q. Ive read conflicting reports on the effects of alcohol on bones. Assuming one...
A. Katherine L. Tucker, PhD, a professor at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and adjunct professor at Tufts Friedman School, answers: It has long been...
Q. The vitamin D supplement I take also contains calcium carbonate, cellulose gel, maltodextrin,...
A. Bess Dawson-Hughes, MD, director of Tufts HNRCA Bone Metabolism Laboratory, answers: The amount of calcium present is very small and so not very consequential. The other ingredients have negligible nutritional value, are commonly used, and I know of no evidence that they are unsafe.…
Q. I am changing all my recipes from sugar to honey and pure maple...
A. Sugar is sugar is sugar, cautions Diane L. McKay, PhD, an assistant professor at Tufts Friedman School about making such a switch. Per tablespoon, granulated (table) sugar has no vitamins or minerals, and honey has slightly higher, but still negligible amounts, while the same amount of maple syrup actually has about 15% of the Daily Value (DV) for riboflavin and 30% of the DV for manganese. Honey and maple syrup also contain several different…
Q. Can olive oil be used in cooking, or should it be used only...
A. Alice H. Lichtenstein, director of Tufts HNRCA Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory, answers: To my knowledge Italians have been using olive oil for centuries in cooking. There is no reason why it could not be used for cooking. Theoretically, olive oil would be more stable than a more unsaturated oil.…