Healthy Eating

Contrary to long-standing concerns about the stimulant effect of caffeine sparking atrial fibrillation, a new analysis concludes that its unlikely habitual caffeine intake from coffee and other dietary sources increases risk. In fact, the pooled analysis found that atrial fibrillation risk fell with increasing caffeine intake.

Its not just the recession thats led to improvements in the US diet, according to a new analysis in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Beyond merely cutting back for pocketbook reasons, Americans are choosing to consume fewer calories and obesity rates are leveling off. The study used sophisticated statistical tools to control for changing economic conditions over the past decade, including unemployment rates and food prices. Calories declined more in beverages than food choices,…

Americans are slowly getting the positive message about whole grains, but we still have a ways to go, according to a new University of Minnesota study of data on more than 9,000 people from a national nutrition survey. The study, funded by General Mills, found that ready-to-eat cereals, oatmeal and breads and rolls accounted for about two-thirds of whole-grain intake. Only 7.7% of adults, however, consumed at least the recommended three ounce equivalents daily, and even fewer children were getting enough.

mall price changes and point-of-purchase labeling may have big effects on consumers beverage choices, according to an experiment in the cafeteria of a large financial institution.

Quinoa, the ancient grain thats enjoying renewed popularity, is free of the gluten protein that patients with celiac disease cant tolerate.

Do recent hopeful headlines about vitamin E and Alzheimers disease mean you should run out and buy vitamin E supplements? Not unless you or a loved one already has mild to moderate Alzheimers-and even then the experts are split. The latest findings, from a study of 613 mostly male veterans at 14 VA hospitals across the country, focused on slowing the progression of the disease, not preventing it in the first place.

Who hasnt wished for more energy at one time or another? Whether youre feeling the effects of hectic modern life or of aging, its only natural to sometimes think your get up and go has gotten up and gone. Little wonder, then, that food, beverage and supplement companies have filled supermarket shelves with products promising to boost energy. So-called energy drinks, introduced only 17 years ago, today represent a $12.5 billion industry. Energy bars rack up more than $700 million in annual sales. Dietary supplements promise timed-release energy, energy therapy and energy revitalization.

Besides the Seahawks and Broncos, viewers of this years Super Bowl saw two other fierce competitors: Greek yogurt brands, slugging it out in commercials. That would have been unthinkable only a few years ago-in 2008, Greek yogurt accounted for only 4% of US yogurt sales. But today Greek yogurt makes up 44% of the multibillion-dollar US yogurt market and is responsible for almost all the growth in this part of the grocery aisle. More than half of US households bought Greek yogurt last year, according to retail research firm IRI.

A. Diane L. McKay, PhD, an assistant professor at Tufts Friedman School, answers: According to the California Walnut Commission , the nutrient profile of...

A. Samantha Salazar Ordonez, a dietetic intern at Tufts Frances Stern Nutrition Center, replies: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognizes that substances...