Special Reports

You can hardly pick up a newspaper these days without reading about the debate over labeling genetically modified (GMO) ingredients in foods. This summer, following the narrow defeat of a GMO-labeling initiative in California, Connecticut and Maine passed labeling legislation that would go into effect if other states follow. On Nov. 5, Washington State voters will decide on a ballot initiative, I-522, The Peoples Right to Know Genetically Engineered Food Act. The Chipotle food franchise recently started identifying menu items with GMO ingredients on its website, and the Whole Foods grocery chain announced it would require GMO labeling in its stores by 2018.

Are you feeding your bones a healthy diet? If not, the consequences could be serious. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation (NOF), some 10 million Americans suffer from osteoporosis, which makes bones less dense and more susceptible to fractures. Another 34 million people are at risk for the condition. Osteoporosis will cause about half of all women over 50 to break a bone at some point in their lifetime, the NOF estimates. One-third of those who suffer hip fractures will require nursing-home care, and one-fifth will die in the first year after the fracture.

Nothing starts a cold winter day better than a steaming bowl of hot cereal. Besides warming and filling you up, hot cereal gives you plenty of reasons to feel good about what youre eating. Its packed with fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals, and pouring low-fat or fat-free milk over your cereal adds still more protein, calcium and vitamin D. If you also top your bowl with fruit instead of a glob of sugar, youre off…

With questions raised about calorie counts, vitamins and fish, it pays to shop smart.

Discover the nutritional benefits of these tasty plants.

Weighing the trade-offs between dairy, soy, almond and other choices.

Unless you have celiac disease, avoiding gluten might actually make you less healthy by missing out on important nutrients.

Maybe its not just the sunny climate, dazzling blue sea and bountiful beaches that make people living around the Mediterranean more cheerful. Prior research has shown that the lifetime prevalence of mental disorders is lower in Mediter - ranean countries than in northern Europe. Now a new Spanish study suggests that part of the explanation might be the so-called Mediterranean diet.

Judging by the headlines on health-news reports, it almost seems that if you drink enough green tea, you could live forever. In scientific journals and the popular press alike, this ancient beverage has been touted for benefits ranging from fighting cancer and heart disease to beautifying your skin and preventing cavities. How much of the recent excitement over green tea is science, not just hype?