Ask the Experts

Q: Given the recent reports about bacterial contamination in nuts, does it make sense...

Answer : We checked your nut idea with Helen Rasmussen, PhD, MS, RD, an instructor at Tufts Friedman School and Senior Research Dietitian at the HNRCA Metabolic Research Unit.

Q: A friend in India claims that it is not advisable to eat fruit...

Answer : Tufts Rasmussen and Litvak again have the answer: After eating a meal, all the food we have consumed begins to break down in the stomach...

Q: I have osteoporosis, and my doctor wants me to take 1,000 IU daily...

Answer : Its true that vitamin D can be toxic at extremely high levels and, technically, your total intake would be above the 2,000 IU daily Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) ...

Q: Ive noticed that some cereals contain freezedried fruit. How does freeze-dried compare to...

Answer : The practice of freeze-drying foods dates to the ancient Incas, who would set out their crops on the slopes of the Andes, where the foods would freeze and then slowly dry ...

Q: Since calcium and vitamin D strengthen bones and vitamin A weakens bones, why...

Answer : Robert M. Russell, MD, professor emeritus at Tufts Friedman School and former director of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging...

Q: I have read that pomegranate juice interferes with the availability and absorption of...

Answer : You can drink your pomegranate juice whenever you like...

Q: Ive often read in your newsletter that all fats contain about 120 calories...

Answer : The total calories per serving is different between oil and butter because a tablespoon of oil contain a full tablespoon of fat whereas a tablespoon of butter does not.

Q: I enjoyed your Special Report on Food and Your Mood (January 2010), but...

Answer : Tryptophan is an amino acid found in foods including poultry, peanuts and seeds, soy products, dairy, eggs and fish.

Q: Do clementines have the same nutritive value as oranges?

Answer : Although sometimes called seedless tangerines, the sweet winter treats known as clementines are actually a variety of mandarin orange.

Q: You often report about research on processed meats. But what exactly does processed...

Answer : According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), processed meat products may include, but are not limited to, bacon...