Healthy Eating

Think you're destined to get cardiovascular disease since it runs in your family? Take heart. A recent New England Journal of Medicine study suggests a healthy lifestyle may cut risk of heart disease events by about half. Events included heart attack, heart bypass surgery (restoring blood flow to heart muscle) and heart-related death. The drastic reduction was regardless of inherited risk.

You may be consuming plenty of vitamin B12. But, is it getting where it needs to go in your body? New research suggests that, even after absorption (which is sometimes poor), genetic variations held by some people may reduce the vitamin's transport from the intestines to the body's tissues where it does its work. Plus, excessive intake of folate (a different B vitamin) might make this problem worse in people with specific genetics.

After kicking cancer, you might worry it will return. That's understandable. Cancer survivors are at significantly higher risk for cancer recurrence and for developing new cancers. But, that doesn't mean there's nothing you can do about it. Although many factors affect cancer risk and survival, following a healthy diet and lifestyle are important proactive steps.

By May 5, 2017, restaurants with at least 20 locations must list calories on print menus and menu boards. Calories should appear next to the name or price of regularly-offered foods and drinks - and in a matching type size.

After acute inflammation of the gallbladder and pancreas, I was advised a low-fat diet. Do these organs distinguish between good and bad fats?

The main differences between dark chocolate and milk chocolate are that dark chocolate does not contain milk or milk solids, and dark chocolate is typically lower in added sugars. However, there is not a specific minimum cacao percentage (the amount of cocoa solids in a product) for dark chocolate in the US; in Europe, dark chocolate is defined as chocolate containing at least 35% cocoa solids.

Calcium requirements vary around the world because they are influenced by other components of the diet that vary around the world. For example, dietary fiber can reduce calcium absorption. High sodium (salt) intake increases calcium losses through the urine.

For a corn tortilla to be considered a whole grain product, it must be made with whole grain corn flour, and this will be indicated on the ingredient list with words such as 'whole corn' or 'whole grain corn flour.'

Sugar-free sweet drinks might seem like a win-win, but scientists are still figuring out how the body responds to them. Recently, 21 healthy-weight young adults were fed a standardized lunch along with either 12 ounces of a sugar-sweetened beverage or one with the artificial sweetener sucralose, made to look and taste the same.

Eating foods high in omega-3 fats may aid oral health. Scientists reviewed 11 human studies (observational and trials) on omega-3 fat intake and periodontal (gum) disease.