Healthy Eating

A study combining data on more than 86,000 people in the US and Europe found only weak connections between genetics and levels of consumption of seafood and omega-3 fatty acids. Instead, environmental and personal factors, such as availability of fish and individual food preferences, may play a bigger role in how much fish people consume.

A national tax on unhealthy and nonessential junk foods, like salty snacks and sugary drinks, would be both legal and administratively doable, according to an analysis in the American Journal of Public Health. A tax could encourage consumers to make better food choices and create an incentive for food manufacturers to make their products less unhealthy.

Avocado, Fennel, Carrot and Radish Salad recipe.

When people resolve to eat better, one of the first things they think of is to start eating more salads. After all, the structure of a great salad is built on vegetables, particularly leafy greens. Vegetables, along with fruits, are the foundation of healthy eating patterns, as emphasized by the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For a 2,000-calorie diet, the Guidelines recommend the equivalent of about 5 cups of vegetables and fruits per day.

Featuring spring vegetables, strawberries, citrus and sweet onion, this colorful salad is truly a celebration of spring. Prepare the dressing and ingredients in advance, but assemble and toss with dressing just before serving. Even though sweet onions are less pungent than other varieties, it is a good idea to soak them in ice water to temper their bite before tossing into a salad. Almonds complement the flavors well, but other nuts, such as walnuts, pecans or pistachios, would make a delicious topping as well.

Juicy, tart red grapefruit makes a delicious contrast to buttery avocado and crunchy radishes. We have included cooked shrimp in this refreshing main-dish salad, but you can substitute sliced cooked chicken or flaked cooked salmon (or even canned salmon). If you have to avoid grapefruit because of the medications you take, substitute a cara cara orange (a type of red-fleshed navel orange) or a regular navel orange.

The number of nerve cells in the brain typically decreases with age, and the levels of the chemical substances involved in sending messages in the brain change. Although researchers arent sure about the exact mechanism, exercise is strongly associated with protection against age-related decline in cognitive function.

Research hasnt clearly shown that eating three meals a day is any better or worse than five or six smaller meals, but we do know you should avoid eating less than three times a day, as that could make it tougher to control your appetite. How often and at what times you should eat, therefore, come down to personal preference and your work or activity schedule. Just remember that the more often you eat, the less you should eat at a time.

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Sugar is Sugar

In addition to those white crystals in your sugar bowl, added sugars come in manyforms, including corn syrup, honey, molasses, maple syrup, brown sugar, agave syrup, fruit juice concentrates, and evaporated cane juice. Most forms of sugars are chemically similar, so switching from one kind of sugar to another wont make a huge difference in terms of your health. The key is to cut back on sweet treats in general. Its estimated that 75 percent of packaged foods sold in the U.S. contain added sugars. If you see a sweetener listed as one of the first three ingredients in a packaged food, it likely contains a significant amount of added sugar.

Nearly half of added sugars that people consume are in the form of sugar sweetened beverages, especially soft drinks, but also fruit drinks, coffee, tea, and sports and energy drinks. Other major sources of added sugars include sweets andsnacks such as candy, ice cream, cookies, granola bars, flavored yogurts, cake, and doughnuts. People also get a significant amount of added sugars from less obvious sources, such as pasta sauces, salad dressings, ketchup, barbecue sauces, breakfastcereals, breads, baked beans, and many other packaged foods.

Spotting Added Sugars in Packaged Foods

The American Heart Association recommends woman and children limit intake of added sugars to 6 teaspoons or less a day, and men aim for less than9 teaspoons. But food labels list sugar in grams! To figure out roughly how many teaspoons of sugar are in a packaged food, divide the number of grams by 4.

Added sugars go by many names on package labels, but the body metabolizes them all in essentially the same way. Check ingredient lists for:

Sugar (white granulated sugar, brown sugar, beet sugar, raw sugar, sugar cane juice)

Other common names for sugars: (cane juice, caramel, corn sweetener, fruit juice/fruit juice concentrate, honey, molasses

Nectar (agave nectar, peach nectar, fruit nectar)

Syrup (corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, carob syrup, maple syrup, malt syrup)

Words ending in -ose (including sucrose, dextrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, lactose, galactose, saccharose, or mannose)

Foreign or unusual names for sugars (demerara, muscovado, panela/raspadora, panocha/penuche, sweet sorghum, treacle)

To learn more about healthy eating habits that can improve your life, purchase a copy of Change Your Diet, Change Your Life from Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter.

Strength training, also known as resistance training, is a form of physical activity that exercises a muscle or muscle group against external resistance. It can be performed using free weights, weight machines, resistance bands, or stability balls, or using your own body weight to supply the resistance.