General Nutrition

Canned fish products such as sardines and mackerel are good sources of omega-3 fat. Direct comparisons between canned and fresh fish are challenging because some of the difference in omega-3 content comes from variations in the fish, such as the exact species, what they eat, where theyre harvested and when, rather than canning per se. Regardless, an oily fish, including canned, is a much better source of omega-3 fat than a white fish like tilapia.

Once eaten by an animal, lectins bind to the sugar portions of the animal's intestinal wall where they interfere with digestion and nutrient uptake. That is why lectins are sometimes called antinutrients. However, after edible seeds are prepared by methods using heat [especially moist heat], they contain very little lectin. Yet, they provide concentrated packets of protein, fat, carbohydrate and fiber, all of which are nutritionally beneficial.

Eating five servings a day of fruits and vegetables is good, but 10 may be even better for your heart, according to a recent analysis of 95 observational studies.

You may be unduly swayed to buy packaged snacks when they carry claims about added vitamins, suggests a new study. A total of 5,076 randomly-selected US adults assessed snack food packages online. When a snack had a claim that it was a good source of a vitamin, the people were significantly less likely to check the Nutrition Facts label and were more likely to choose the snack than when the same product lacked the claim.

Eating healthy and saving money may be easier if you don your apron. In a cross-sectional survey of 437 Seattle households, cooking at home more often was associated with a higher-quality dietary pattern, based on criteria in the US Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Last May, the FDA unveiled an updated Nutrition Facts label, which is required on packaged foods by July 2018 (small companies get an extra year). A big change to the label is listing the amount of "Added Sugars." Those are sugars added by manufacturers. Although you should consider several aspects of a food's nutritional value, checking added sugars can inform choices when comparing products within categories.

If you feel a meal isn't complete without meat, try substituting legumes (beans and peas). New research from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark found legumes satisfied hunger just as well as a meat-based meal.

Hoping past news headlines hinting it's OK to load up on butter were right? No such luck. Longstanding advice to eat unsaturated fat in place of saturated fat - also found in high amounts in foods such as fatty meats and mixed dishes like pizza - was recently reinforced by the findings of a large observational study published in The BMJ (British Medical Journal).

Microbes - bacteria and other tiny critters not visible to the naked eye but numbering in the trillions - are busy in your body. Many of these microbes benefit you. Others have the potential to cause harm. This community of microbes is called the microbiota. Their genes are called the microbiome.

It's all too common for people to go on weight loss diets but give up because their appetite is surging. Sadly, many people regain much of the weight theyve worked so hard to lose. It may not be due to weak willpower, though. Rather, your body may be producing powerful signals to tell you to eat. How you go about weight loss could make an important difference.