Fats

The Mediterranean-style diet has been drawing continued support in recent years along with a little cautionary advice. Is the Mediterranean diet healthful and safe-or is it elevated by hype?

You shouldn't have to choose between the health of your heart and your bones. Yet, news headlines sparked by studies over the past decade have resulted in a lot of confusion about possible ties between getting too much calcium and an increased risk of heart attack. A new analysis in which scientists considered the evidence as a whole, however, provides reassurance: You can safely meet your calcium needs without putting your heart at risk.

It's a bit of a taboo topic, but regular elimination of poo is a basic human necessity. Constipation can result in abdominal discomfort, bloating, hard stools, straining and hemorrhoids. Some people may turn to fiber supplements for help. That shouldnt be your initial approach though. Fiber supplements don't provide the good nutrition of fiber-containing plant foods important for overall health.

Think a claim like "low sodium" or "low fat" means a food is healthy? Not necessarily. Scientists looked at more than 80 million food and beverage purchases over a four-year period made by more than 40,000 US households.

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.

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.

Controlling type 2 diabetes requires spot-checking blood sugar, including after you eat. "The highest blood sugars of the day tend to be after meals," says Richard Siegel, MD, an endocrinologist and co-director of the Diabetes and Lipid Center at Tufts Medical Center. Blood sugar spikes - temporary high readings - after meals can be hard on heart health.

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).