Matthew Kadey, MS, RD

Almond butter was the first to challenge the decades-long dominance of creamy and crunchy peanut butter. Now, seed butters represent a hot new trend in spreads, each offering a unique flavor and nutritional profile. This trio of no-nut spreads is worthy of pantry space: Sesame Seed Butter Often labeled as tahini, this spread of ground sesame seeds has a rich, smoky flavor and velvety texture. As a good source of mono- and polyunsaturated fats, it can help keep your heart strong.

Here is some buzz-worthy news: Scientists seem to have pinpointed how many cups of coffee we can safely drink each day. A large 2017 review of studies published in Food and Chemical Toxicology determined that consuming up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day—which would include sources like tea and chocolate, too—has no detrimental impact on health measures such as bone strength or cardiovascular well-being. That amount represents about 4 cups of coffee.

As the dangers of drinking too much soda (diabetes, obesity, etc.) become increasingly known to the public, sales continue to drop, but it seems we are simply replacing one nutrition villain with another. According to the marketing firm Packaged Facts, sales of sports and energy drinks are rocketing upward—hitting an estimated $25 billion in 2016 with an annual growth rate of 7%.

Because fast food is thought to be relatively inexpensive, there’s an assumption that people with lower incomes have a bigger soft spot for it than those in higher-grossing socioeconomic groups. Now, a 2017 study in the journal Economics & Human Biology is challenging this assertion. In the paper, which drew from a large sample of Americans, researchers discovered that the guilty pleasure of biting into a Big Mac is shared across the income spectrum, from rich to poor.

Muscle men aren’t the only ones needing to load up on more protein. Recent evidence suggests that the current Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein, which is 0.8 gram per kilogram of body weight per day for healthy adults over age 19, is too low for elderly people and those who engage in high volumes of aerobic activity. A May 2017 Frontiers in Nutrition paper makes a strong argument that older adults can have lower rates of muscle and function loss with protein intakes of 1.2–1.5 g/kg BW/day.

America’s massive pile of food waste makes up an estimated 30%–40% of the nation’s food supply, or about 1,200–1,400 calories per person each day, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The perils of this ugly food trend are many: added costs to grocery budgets, global-warming methane gas production as food decomposes in landfills, and waste of resources used to grow and transport the food.

To stay on good terms with the scale, it might be a good idea to trade T-bone for tempeh more often, according to a June 2017 analysis in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. Study participants who followed a calorie-controlled vegetarian diet of legumes, grains, nuts, fruits, veggies and just a small amount of dairy shed almost twice as much body weight as those on a more conventional, calorie-equivalent diet that contained meat. The plant-heavy diet was also more effective at reducing muscle fat, which improved blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity.

Now that sweater weather has arrived for much of the country, working to keep up vitamin D levels becomes even more important. After all, the sunshine vitamin is not only important for bone health but has also been tied to a lower risk for certain cancers, heart conditions
and depression.