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You know that sugar-sweetened sodas can pack on the pounds and contribute to the risk of heart disease and diabetes. But new Tufts research reports that sugary drinks may also increase your odds of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Characterized by a buildup of fat in the liver unrelated to alcohol consumption, NAFLD frequently goes undetected because it often presents no symptoms; as many as 25% of US adults may have the disease. NAFLD may cause the liver to swell, leading to scarring (cirrhosis) over time and even to liver cancer or liver failure.

Consumption of sugary drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 adult deaths each year worldwide, according to research recently published in the journal Circulation. Many countries in the world have a significant number of deaths occurring from a single dietary factor-sugar-sweetened beverages, says Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, senior author of the study and dean of Tufts Friedman School. Dr. Mozaffarian is also editor-in-chief of the Health & Nutrition Letter. It should be a global priority to substantially reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet.

If the headlines about a drug related to B vitamins helping to prevent skin cancer tempted you to toss your sunscreen and broad-brimmed hat, think again. The findings were exciting because the hope of preventing cancer with vitamins has largely proven elusive, and the researchers declared their results ready to put into clinical practice.But, in a cautionary note that didnt necessarily make the nightly news, those Australian scientists also said only people who get frequent non-melanoma skin cancers should adopt the preventive measures-and only after consulting with their doctors. Moreover, the vitamin B3 compound that was tested isnt the familiar niacin found in supplement aisles. Niacin can cause side effects including flushing and headaches. Rather, the study used nicotinamide, a compound related to niacin thats more commonly sold in the US as niacinamide.

Onions are nothing to cry over. These flavorful bulbs are an excellent source of healthful chemicals: vitamin C, flavonoids, antioxidants, and sulfur compounds. Onions are nutrient powerhouses, whether eaten cooked or raw; however, raw onions have higher levels of sulfur compounds.

Popular coverage of diet and weight-loss strategies often summarizes the bottom line with a twist on President Bill Clintons campaign mantra, Its the economy, stupid. When it comes to managing your weight, as this line of thinking goes, Its the calories, stupid.But a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition challenges this conventional wisdom. It builds on earlier work that suggests all calories are not the same, says Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, dean of Tufts Friedman School and senior author of the study. All foods have complex mechanisms that help or hinder weight long-term. The simple math of calories in versus calories burned is true if youre testing food in a test tube. But human beings are not just inert buckets to put calories in.

Eating a more plant-based diet could reduce your risk of colorectal cancer-and especially so if it includes regular consumption of fish. Surprisingly, the latest findings from the Adventist Health Study-2 report that pescovegetarians-people who are otherwise vegetarians but also eat fish at least once a month-were at the lowest risk of such cancers. Adding fish to a vegetarian diet was associated with less risk than any other type of vegetarian diet, including a vegan regimen.

If your budget isnt up to a tropical vacation this summer, you can at least take your tastebuds to the tropics with some nutrition-packed choices in the fruit section. Tropical fruits such as guava, kiwifruit, mango and papaya are low-calorie, nutrient-dense options for adding variety to your menus. Although most tropical fruits are now available year-round, several of these are at their peak (and also most affordable) in summer or early fall.

Nobody questions the health benefits of even just a little exercise, but you may wonder about what might be called the Goldilocks question: How much physical activity is just right? And is it possible to get too much or to overdo the intensity? Two large new studies, both published in JAMA Internal Medicine, attempt to answer such questions and identify the sweet spot of the ideal amount of exercise.

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.

Americans consume more than $7 billion a year worth of yogurt, with hundreds of new yogurt products introduced annually. In survey after survey, consumers say the healthfulness of yogurt is top among the reasons they eat it.