Nutrition/Healthy Eating Articles

It’s often said that good health begins in the gut, an aphorism that is well supported by two studies published in the August 29 issue of Nature (2013; 500, 541-46). In short, individuals with low bacterial richness in their gut have more obesity and inflammation--and weight loss can improve the richness of their bacterial genes.

If you are ingesting aloe vera as part of a supplemental regimen to detoxify your body, to balance stomach acidity or to promote overall well-being, the Centers for Science in the Public Interest urges you to think twice. In August, the CSPI gave aloe vera an “avoid” rating in its “Chemical Cuisine” guide to food additives (www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm), citing studies by the U.S. government showing that aloe vera extracts caused intestinal cancers in male and female lab rats. "Save it for sunburns," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson.

It’s tempting to think you can get one of your daily fruit servings from a glass of juice, but skip the convenience of drinking it and instead eat the whole fruit, say Harvard School of Public Health (HSHP) researchers.

Is losing a significant amount of muscle mass part and parcel of losing weight through exercise and diet? A new report appearing in the September issue of The FASEB [Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology] Journal (2013; [9], 3837-47) challenges this belief.

Plain, bland and austere are words that aptly describe the eating plans physicians have traditionally given to patients at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and hypertension. But new research has injected these staid prescriptions with a wicked, dark-chocolate swirl.

Question: Sea salt is being promoted as if it were much better for us than our usual salt (table salt). Is this a marketing scam, or is there really something to it? Isn't salt salt (sodium chloride), whether it comes from the sea or from the earth? Answer: Technically, all salt is sea salt. Some salt is actively harvested today from salt-water bodies, while other salt is mined from mineral deposits that were formed when a salt-water body evaporated millennia ago.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) has been working with the Harvard School of Public Health to remake many of our favorite foods, and they’ve recently taken on the task of making over their muffin recipes. Developed by the CIA for a Harvard-CIA "Muffin Makeover" project, this recipe for Lemon Chickpea Muffins incorporates healthy fats and whole grains to create a better-for-you version of the massively oversized, calorie-laden muffin found in most restaurants and bakeries.


Sales of foods with “protein” on the label are skyrocketing, and new product launches of high-protein foods are soaring (Stagnito Media 2013). American shoppers want more protein in everything from cereals to snack foods, but in a society where protein intake is already adequate, are consumers getting too much of a good thing? Nutrition and fitness professionals trumpeting the weight-loss and muscle-building benefits of dietary protein are instrumental in educating consumers hungry for information about the type, amount and timing needed for optimal health.

To paraphrase an ancient Chinese philosopher, “A journey of 26.2 miles begins with a single step.” From the time the Greek runner Pheidippides ran from Marathon to Athens in 490 BC to announce the Greeks’ victory in the Battle of Marathon, humans have had a compelling interest in taking that single step--and many more after it.

Halloween has evolved over time from “All Hallows’ Eve,” a night of warding off the evil spirits of the dead, to a night centered around children, costumes and candy. As childhood obesity has escalated, more parents have become wary of the calorie-laden trick-or-treating tradition. We asked some of IDEA’s expert nutrition authors and presenters how they keep their kids healthy without spoiling the holiday fun.