Eating for the Environment in Five Simple Steps
The food choices you make can have a real impact on the environment. Growing crops and raising animals for food creates about a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and accounts for about 70 percent of all freshwater use the vast majority of tropical deforestation. On top of that, food waste and packaging have […]
Your Amazing Digestive System
“It’s remarkable what happens to food after you’ve swallowed it,” says Andrew Plaut, MD, gastroenterologist at Tufts Medical Center and author of Know Your Gut: Straight Talk on Digestive Problems from a Gastrointestinal Physician. “Your digestive system knows what to do with everything you send its way, from whole grains and vegetables to bagels or […]
Your Microbial Partners: The Gut Microbiome and Your Health
We share our bodies with trillions of microorganisms. This community of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites is known as the microbiota. “Previous estimates have suggested that there could be ten times as many microbial cells in our body as human cells,” says Naisi Zhao, MHS, DrPH, a research assistant professor at Tufts University School of […]
Dietary Supplements: What You Need to Know
More than half of American adults take dietary supplements—oral products containing at least one vitamin, mineral, herb or other botanical, amino acid, or enzyme—in the belief it will help them stay healthy, sleep better, lose weight, boost energy, and more. While there are cases in which some supplements can be beneficial to health, these products […]
Anti-Aging Dietary Supplements: Fact vs. Marketing Fiction
Our quest for the fountain of youth is a big business. It has been estimated that the anti-aging products market in the U.S. was over $14 billion in 2020, and it’s projected to be worth over $83 billion by 2027. These products include supposedly anti-aging herbs, vitamins, and other dietary supplements. The anti-aging claims made […]
Vitamin D and Your Health: Unanswered Questions
If you take supplements in an effort to raise your blood levels of vitamin D, protect your bone health, or boost your immune system,...
Top 10 Swaps for Good Health
We asked Tufts experts for one small change they would recommend for the biggest benefits. Here’s what they said:
1. Try Barley, not White Rice...
To Worry…or Not to Worry?
Making healthy food choices is hard enough without worrying about the additional potential health impact of things like pesticide residues, environmental contaminants, and rogue...
Dietary Supplement Myths You Need to Know
In a 2019 poll, 86 percent of Americans surveyed said they took some kind of vitamin, mineral, or other dietary supplement. Ironically, data are...
Staying Satisfied while Losing Weight
Hunger matters: research suggests we have an easier time eating less if we feel less hungry. Scientists have learned a lot in recent years...