51 healthy foods - search results

Since the early 1940s, when multivitamin/mineral supplements first became available, Americans have popped countless such pills in hopes of nutritional insurance and making up for any dietary shortfalls. Today, more than one-third of all Americans take a multivitamin, and multivitamins alone account for more than 40% of all vitamin and mineral supplement sales-an estimated $5.4 billion annually. Yet the scientific evidence for the benefits of multivitamins is mixed at best, with large recent studies reporting no association between usage and better cardiovascular or cognitive health and only modest cancer protection.

The humble egg has been on a roll lately. First, the US Department of Agriculture recalculated the amount of dietary cholesterol in a typical large egg downward-from 215 to 185 milligrams-and vitamin D upward (to 41 IU, 10% of the Daily Value). Then, earlier this year, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) concluded, given current intakes of dietary cholesterol in the US, it was no longer necessary to recommend that most people limit dietary cholesterol to 300 milligrams daily. (See the May newsletter for details.) That limit had led many people to avoid eggs.

Not since the TV-cartoon heyday of Fred Flintsones modern Stone Age family have cavemen been so in vogue. The Paleo Diet, a book by Loren Cordain, PhD, has been a bestseller since it was first published in 2002, and it has spawned a pile of cookbooks and a glossy magazine devoted to modern day primal living. A Google search for Paleo diet retrieves 7.7 million hits. Actor Chris Pratt credits the Paleo diet for getting him in shape to star as the buff hero in the Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

A trip to the supermarket can feel like running a gauntlet of buzzwords. This product promises its reduced sodium, while that one is natural and gluten-free. Is a food made with extra fiber better than excellent source of fiber, or vice versa? Just how low in calories does a food have to be to boast that its low-calorie-and should you pick that label over one thats lower calorie or light?

Reduced sodium or low sodium-The term reduced means a product has 25% less sodium than the same food with a normal amount, so a reduced sodium choice is better than a conventional one. But even reduced sodium foods may be higher in sodium than those labeled low sodium, which can contain no more than 140 milligrams per serving. A reduced sodium can of beans, for example, should contain 25% less than the 311 milligrams of sodium found in a serving-233 milligrams, more than the low sodium limit. Check the Nutrition Facts panel to see what youre really getting.

The ancient Roman legions knew something that modern chefs are only now rediscovering: Farro, a form of wheat that originated in the Middle Easts Fertile Crescent thousands of years ago, offers nutrition enough to march on with a nutty taste and pleasantly chewy texture. As chic restaurants around the country are demonstrating, farro is also versatile enough to substitute for rice and other more familiar grains in dishes ranging from risottos to salads, soups to breakfast bowls.

Sugar is in the crosshairs of the nations nutrition experts, with the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) for the first time recommending limiting added sugars to no more than 10% of daily calories. (See the May newsletter for the complete story.) The US Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, has proposed a separate listing for added sugars in its updated Nutrition Facts panel.Unquestionably, there is no benefit from high intakes of added sugar, says Tufts professor Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, who served as vice-chair of the DGAC, and for most people there are adverse effects.

If you grew up thinking of nuts as a not-very-good-for-you indulgence, theres a growing pile of evidence that should change your mind about these healthy foods. For a long time, consumers thought that coffee raises blood pressure, eggs cause heart disease, chocolate is an unhealthy treat, and nuts make you fat, says Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, director of Tufts HNRCA Antioxidants Research Laboratory. However, such conclusions were often based on very little science and several mistaken assumptions. The latest news in nuts rehabilitation comes from two studies spotlighting the heart-health benefits of almonds and peanuts.

Q. Is there a recommended ratio of omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6, which I read can cause inflammation?

Yes, eggs are back on the menu, and not only is it OK to wash them down with a cup of coffee (watch the cream and sugar), it may even be good for you. On the other hand, you should cut down on added sugars. But those headlines from the recently released report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) arent the most important takeaway from the every-five-years review of scientific evidence. That should be the importance of a healthy overall dsietary pattern.

Tufts professor Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, who served as vice-chair of the committee, also warns not to confuse the experts report with the official Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The committee was tasked with writing a report that summarized the scientific evidence for use by the secretaries of agriculture and health and human services to formulate the 2015 Dietary Guidelines, she explains. Our task was not to make recommendations, but to identify critical issues and present the data on the topic.

Lichtenstein and a fellow professor at Tufts Friedman School, Miriam Nelson, PhD, have been meeting with 12 colleagues since June 2013 to develop the report. Tufts Tim Griffin also served as a consultant to the committee on sustainability. The US Department of Agriculture and Department of Health and Human Services are expected to follow up on their work by issuing the updated official Dietary Guidelines by years end.

Given the caveat that the experts 571-page report isnt the last word, what would these nutrition experts like you to know about the latest evidence? Here are five key points: