Special Reports

Nutrition experts - including those advising this newsletter - have been preaching for years about the benefits of replacing refined grains in your diet with whole grains. The latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans echoed this advice, recommending limiting intake of refined grains and products made with refined grains and starches.

While you're celebrating the holidays this season, your body could be quietly sending out a cry for help. The period from Thanksgiving through New Years can be a disaster for your best intentions of watching what you eat and staying active.

Taking early steps to protect against cold and flu through diet and lifestyle can help the flu shot fight seasonal viruses. Here are 10 simple preventative measures to boost immunity.

An important nutrient for reaching old age free of disease and disability might surprise you. According to a new Australian study, it's dietary fiber - a nutrient that, by definition, you don't even digest. In its path through your body, however, fiber is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.

Bored with broccoli? Had it up to here with green beans and asparagus? Seen enough carrots and peas to last a lifetime? Maybe you need to branch out a little in the produce aisle."Some often-overlooked vegetables deserve a second glance for their nutritional benefits," says Jeffrey B. Blumberg, PhD, Tufts professor and senior scientist at the HNRCA Antioxidants Research Laboratory. He and Helen M. Rasmussen, PhD, RD, a Friedman School instructor and senior research dietitian at the HNRCA, have put together a list of 10 nutritious veggies too often omitted from grocery carts.

If you think food that tastes good can't possibly be good for you, or if you feel guilty about enjoying a meal, it might be time to hit the reset button on your attitudes toward eating and nutrition. While it's smart to pay attention to what's in your food, todays culture of information clutter can make it difficult to sort out facts from fads. Once you start worrying about what you need to avoid at every meal, food can morph from enjoyment to enemy.

If you're worried about high blood pressure, a new systematic review of scientific evidence has good news: Changing your diet really can make a difference. Not surprisingly, the most effective diet for reducing hypertension was one designed specifically for that purpose - the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) plan. But other interventions, including cutting salt and calories, also were associated with blood-pressure benefits.

Have you ever looked at a "sell by" or "best if used by" date on a food container, checked the calendar, and thrown out something because it had "expired"? Youre part of a $165 billion a year problem. About 40% of Americas food gets wasted, much of it because of a confusing patchwork of state laws that make people think food thats still safe to eat should be trashed.

Every cell in your body needs water to function. Water transports nutrients and oxygen throughout the body, and carries away waste materials. Water makes up most of your body, ranging from about 75% of body weight in infancy to 55% of body weight at older ages. Your brain and heart are almost three-quarters water, your muscles and kidneys are almost 80% water, and even your bones are about 30% water.

If you've got your AARP card but you're still eating the way you did in your 20s, it's time for your diet to act your age. While most nutritional guidance is "ageless," you do need to make some adjustments to fit the changing needs of your aging body.