Fit Fare

Not one, but two studies from researchers at Penn State reported on beneficial health findings for this simple little green nut (technically a seed) at the 2007 Experimental Biology meeting in Washington, D.C. It seems this nutritional powerhouse has the ability to tackle heart disease from two angles, cholesterol and blood pressure. In one […]

It should come as no surprise that eating fish is good for you. After all, we wrote about the merits of it recently. Having a diet that is rich in omega-3 fatty acids can stave away many things, and one is age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a deterioration of the retina that leads to eventual blindness. […]

In a recent letter made public, the Federal Trade Commission asserted that U.S. dairy producers must discontinue all advertising and marketing activities that involve weight loss claims.  As reported by Reuters, the milk-related weight loss connection is not supported by enough scientific evidence.  More conclusive research must be completed before such dairy campaigns may resume.
The […]

You know me. I’m that woman who blocks the aisle at the grocery store with my cart, totally oblivious as you maneuver around me. I’ll have a box of cereal or loaf of bread in my hands, staring at the packaging, frown lines etched into my forehead. Yes, I’m a label reader. And I’m sometimes […]

We’ve heard it all our lives, starting with our mothers: “Eat your fruit and vegetables!” And as we grew up we saw constant reports from different research groups and the government, exhorting us with the same refrain. But, are most people listening? It would appear that the answer is a resounding no. Sadly, despite the […]

Spurred by numerous recent food-borne illness outbreaks, the ever-prescient F.D.A. decided to give the fresh-cut produce industry some helpful advice on Monday, in the form of non-binding “guidelines” for safe handling practices. Non-binding, meaning processors can choose to follow the advice or not, unlike the mandatory rules for safe handling the meat industry has to […]

As the population ages, we hear more and more about Alzheimer’s disease, which gradually destroys cognitive function in affected people as they age. Memory and the ability to process new information declines, and the risk of dementia increases. It can become personal when it occurs in your own family. Like an increasing number of people, […]

It is true, we may soon be emerging from the wishful thinking phase. Though it has yet to hit my doctor’s recommended diet list, cocoa is making significant headway into the world of ‘superfoods.’ Recent reports have pegged the flavanols in chocolate as skin protecting, heart-healthy, and now brain boosting.
A study publicized this […]

Last month I posted about the free nutritional programs Johns Hopkins University is offering online. I decided to take the Nutritional Health, Food Production and the Environment one and see what it was like.
It was pretty intensive. The lecture “notes” are actual MP3s of some lectures and have some commentary. It was like actually attending […]

This is one of those possibly controversial posts.  How do I know?  Well, at the Worlds of Healthy Flavors event hosted by the Culinary Institute of America and the Harvard School of Public Health - Department of Nutrition there was much seat shifting and rustling of papers when Dr. Eric Rimm’s presentation was given on the topic of how the benefits of […]