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Vitamin K, once thought important primarily for blood clotting, may have a much wider array of health benefits. One recent Spanish study reported that people with the highest dietary intake of vitamin K were at significantly lower risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer and all causes. And if youre not already consuming plenty of vitamin K-found in dark leafy greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts and other vegetables (see box)-its not too late to start: The study also found that people who increased their vitamin K intake were at lower mortality risk.

If a little is good, most Americans are accustomed to thinking, more must be better and a lot must be better still. When it comes to vitamins and minerals, however, it is possible to get too much of a good thing-especially if some of your nutrients are coming from pills instead of food.Remember that most of your vitamin and mineral needs can be safely met by a thoughtful diet, cautions Irwin H. Rosenberg, MD, editor of the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter. The use of so-called dietary supplements will always be associated with some degree of risk.

After youve reached a certain age, does eating right really matter? As a reader of this newsletter, you might take it for granted that the answer is, Yes, of course!-after all, you subscribe to a publication whose tagline is Living healthier longer. But exactly how does nutrition affect the health of older individuals?

The ancient Egyptians were onto something when they paid their pyramid-building crews with onions, and placed onions in the tombs of their pharaohs. In the Biblical account of the Exodus, onions are among the Egyptian foods the children of Israel miss. In ancient Greece, Olympians prepared for the games by drinking onion juice and rubbing their bodies with onions.

Hardly a day goes by, it seems, without the news media reporting some food thats been found to be bad for you. One day its processed meats; the next, its baked goods made with trans-fatty acids. Faced with this litany of donts, you can start to wonder whether any food is OK to eat.

This seasons culinary and cultural spotlight shines on the pumpkin, but the jack-o-lanterns less-celebrated cousins-winter squash-are also at their peak of flavor and nutrition. Like the pumpkin, butternut, acorn and other winter squash are technically fruits, but are consumed more like vegetables. Though they vary by species, winter squash are at least as nutritious as pumpkin and deliver more nutrients than summer varieties like zucchini. Its no wonder the pre-Colombian Native Americans who first cultivated winter squash buried them with their dead to provide nourishment for the journey to the afterlife.

Getting more magnesium might help you maintain mobility as you age. A new Italian randomized trial reports that daily supplementation with 300 milligrams of magnesium improved physical performance in older women. Among the benefits was a faster gait speed-a key factor in diagnosing sarcopenia, the frailty associated with loss of lean muscle mass in aging.

AIrwin H. Rosenberg, MD, editor of the Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter, replies: I think the preferred height measure is the pre-aging one or, as is sometimes done, use of knee height (adjusted to fit the BMI formula), which doesnt shrink with compressed spine. A smaller height measurement due to spinal compression with aging would indeed shift a BMI calculation to a lower value and project a safer level than would be real based on…

Q. I read about a study that found individuals with a high intake of vitamin E had a lower risk of developing Alzheimers disease. I have been taking 1,000 IU daily. Now I read in your newsletter (June 2014) that men taking vitamin E supplements were more likely to get prostate cancer. What should I do?

It may be time to dig out that seldom-used steamer basket, or the bamboo steamer your cousin gave you as a birthday gift that you never opened. Your cousin was right when she said steaming is a healthy way to cook-no added fat required, zero potential carcinogens from charring, and minimal loss of nutrients.