Healthy Eating

Q. Ive read that nuts deliver fewer calories than the label indicates because not all the calories get absorbed by the body. Is the same true for nut butters?

Don't wait until you've had a heart attack to start boosting your fiber intake! Dietary fiber is the term for several materials that make up the parts of plants your body can't digest. Fiber is classified as soluble (can be dissolved in water) or insoluble. Good sources of soluble fiber include oats, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries and apples. Foods high in insoluble fiber include whole-wheat breads, wheat cereals, wheat bran, rye, rice, barley, most other grains, cabbage, beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, turnips, cauliflower and apple skin.

Science may have debunked the low-fat fad, but most Americans still havent gotten the word. A Gallup poll reports that nearly twice as many of us are trying to avoid fat in our diets (56%) as those seeking to cut down on carbohydrates (29%). Among the 29% who say they are trying to lose weight, 73% are actively avoiding fats compared to 44% cutting down on carbs. Thats despite recent headlines reporting that low-carb diets are more effective than low-fat plans for weight loss.

A recent headline-grabbing study seemed to settle the issue of low-carb versus low-fat diets definitively, reporting that a low-carb diet was not only more effective for weight loss, but also better for cardiovascular risk factors. In the yearlong study of 148 obese volunteers, those assigned to a low-carbohydrate regimen lost nearly eight pounds more and showed greater improvements in triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and a standard risk score for heart disease than a low-fat group. Both groups saw similar decreases in unhealthy LDL cholesterol. Researchers said the cardiovascular findings were notable because of concerns that low-carb diets might boost unhealthy cholesterol levels as dieters substitute fats for carbohydrates.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the rapid rise in US diabetes rates may be flattening out, possibly due to a similar slowing in increases in obesity. Published in JAMA, the report looked at data on more than 660,000 adults from the National Health Interview Survey. Although incidence of new diagnoses of diabetes had shot up from 3.2 per 1,000 people in 1990 to 8.8 in 2008, that rate actually dropped to 7.1 in 2012. Overall prevalence of diabetes, which rose sharply from 3.5 per 100 Americans to 7.9 from 1990 to 2008, increased only slightly to 8.3 by 2012.

If youre worried about calories when eating out at a chain restaurant, ask whats new. A recent analysis of nearly 20,000 menu items from 66 of the largest US chain eateries found that newer choices tended to contain fewer calories than the chains old standbys. That could be a reflection, researchers speculated, of restaurant companies concerns over federal rules requiring them to disclose calorie counts on menus. On average, new menu items such as wraps, salads and grilled chicken contained nearly 60 fewer calories-a 12% difference. Overall calories didnt change, however, nor did the calories in companies core products, such as the hamburgers at burger chains or pizzas at pizza restaurants.

Sorry, Porky, your time at the top is almost over: Within the next five years, the worlds most popular meat will become poultry. According to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, the slow growth rate of pork will lead to it being overtaken by chicken, turkey and other poultry products by 2020. Poultry is expected to take over in almost every region and country, including both developed and developing nations. By 2023, poultry is projected to account for half of the additional overall meat consumption. In the US, beef and pork consumption are expected to stay flat or decline slightly, while poultry will more than make up for the combined trend.

After youve reached a certain age, does eating right really matter? As a reader of this newsletter, you might take it for granted that the answer is, Yes, of course!-after all, you subscribe to a publication whose tagline is Living healthier longer. But exactly how does nutrition affect the health of older individuals?

If youre over age 40, the odds are nearly one in four that youre taking statin medications to improve your cholesterol levels. And if doctors and patients follow prevention guidelines released earlier this year, almost half the over-40 population would be taking the prescription drugs, including almost all men ages 60 to 75. …

The ancient Egyptians were onto something when they paid their pyramid-building crews with onions, and placed onions in the tombs of their pharaohs. In the Biblical account of the Exodus, onions are among the Egyptian foods the children of Israel miss. In ancient Greece, Olympians prepared for the games by drinking onion juice and rubbing their bodies with onions.