Diet and nutrition
Good health starts with a nutritious diet. Whole grains, fresh vegetables and fruits, lean protein ... they have an appeal that endures. That's not to say that fads don't come and go, that research doesn't change, that trends don't shift. They do. The following articles offer a highlight of the latest news -- and a snapshot of ever-evolving nutrition science.
August 26, 2011
The power of plants in your diet
Make way for the plant-based diet, the latest buzzword for an optimal diet that focuses on plants, such as grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds, rather than a diet of animal products like meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy. Health experts extol the virtues of a plant-based diet as a healthy eating style that can help you fight chronic disease and obesity.
5:14 PM CDT, August 24, 2011
Crystallized ginger may help restless leg symptoms
My 86-year-old mother began to suffer with restless leg syndrome in her 40s; the severity has increased through the years. Recently, she realized that the symptoms had decreased markedly.
3:19 PM CDT, August 23, 2011
Diet alone helps lower bad cholesterol
A diet based around plants, nuts and high-fiber grains lowered "bad" cholesterol more than a low-saturated-fat diet that was also vegetarian, researchers reported.
4:11 PM CDT, August 18, 2011
How healthy behaviors improve your mortality risk
After countless studies on the positive effects of not smoking, eating healthful foods, exercising a bit and limiting how much alcohol you drink, a new study found that Americans who practiced all four of those healthy behaviors were 63 percent less likely to die early than those who practiced none of them.
August 15, 2011
Restaurant will have to dish on nutrition
Just how many calories in that eggplant parmigiana? In 2012, when restaurant labeling becomes the law of the land as part of healthcare reform legislation, diners will be in for some surprises. The law requires restaurants and retail food businesses with 20 or more locations to list calorie content for standard items on menus and menu boards. Drive-throughs are included, but movie theaters are exempt. Beyond calories, more detailed nutritional information — such as sodium, saturated fat or cholesterol content — must be available on request.
August 14, 2011
Long-discredited hCG diet makes a comeback
Among the hundreds of drastic and unproven weight loss plans, the controversial hCG diet may take the cake.
3:40 PM CDT, August 10, 2011
Many fruit juices affect how medications work
Q: I know that grapefruit juice is a problem with my blood pressure pill felodipine. I wonder about other juices, like apple and orange juice. Will they affect this or my allergy medication fexofenadine? It is so hard to tell what is safe to eat or drink with your medicine.
6:38 PM CDT, August 9, 2011
Healthier collard greens? Diabetes programs challenge African-American traditions
"You have to get African Americans out of the mentality of how we used to cook," said Cassandra Thomas. Adds city commissioner Daisy Lynum, who represents Parramore: "That's the biggest risk we have: How to cook collard greens without ham hocks and pork."
Getting omega 3 from veggies, spices, fruit
If you're looking for something other than snack nuts like these to incorporate more omega 3 in your diet, here are some meal ideas with spices, fruits and vegetables. Why is omega 3 important? It can help reduce asthma, help with dry-eye syndrome, maintaining good eyesight, protect skin and relieve joint pain in rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.
Incorporating omega 3 from nuts, seeds
If you're not a fan of seafood but want to include omega 3 fatty acids in your diet, there are alternatives. In Michael van Straten's book "The Omega 3 cookbook," he gives suggestions for healthy nut snack items that include the essential fatty acid. According to CDC, omega-3 polyunsaturated fats provide an essential fatty acid that our bodies need but can't make.
4:49 PM CDT, August 5, 2011
BOOSTER SHOTS: Oddities, musings and news from the health world
Tending to a community garden may foster higher fruit and vegetable consumption
People who grow their own fruits and vegetables are apt to eat them, but a study finds that community gardeners may have an edge over home gardeners when it comes to consuming more fresh produce.
8:26 PM CDT, August 4, 2011
BOOSTER SHOTS: Oddities, musings and news from the health world
Eating healthy, nutrient-rich foods may come at a price
Buyer, beware: Eating as healthy as Uncle Sam suggests may end up costing hundreds of dollars extra per year, a new paper in the journal Health Affairs says.
6:21 PM CDT, August 2, 2011
BOOSTER SHOTS: Oddities, musings and news from the health world
Dieting makes your brain cells eat themselves
It's all shrinking-brain stuff this week in the health news world, it seems. Yesterday, we reported that obesity (as well as smoking, diabetes and high blood pressure) in midlife causes brains to shrink at an accelerated clip.
1:15 PM CDT, July 27, 2011
Synthetic B vitamin can ease diabetic neuropathy
Q: I heard a caller on your radio show talk about a vitamin for peripheral neuropathy and restless leg syndrome. What is it? Can you tell me more?
5:39 PM CDT, July 13, 2011
BOOSTER SHOTS: Oddities, musings and news from the health world
Drinking six to eight cups of water called 'nonsense' in editorial
Drinking six to eight glasses of water each day is healthful, most health experts agree. But apparently not everyone is on the same page.
July 13, 2011
Experts defend bashed potato
Potatoes have taken a mashing lately, being blamed over other foods for people's long-term weight gain and possibly being limited in favor of other vegetables for school lunches.
5:18 PM CDT, July 13, 2011
BOOSTER SHOTS: Oddities, musings and news from the health world
Demi Lovato talks about eating disorders -- but why are they so hard to shake?
Admitting you have an eating disorder after living with it for years is no easy task -- but that's exactly what Demi Lovato told Ryan Seacrest in an interview.
12:10 PM CDT, June 27, 2011
BOOSTER SHOTS: Oddities, musings and news from the health world
TV fast-food ads encourage childhood obesity, pediatricians say
TV advertisements for sugary and fatty foods are playing a role in childhood obesity and ought to be taken off the air, a leading group of pediatricians says.
June 13, 2011
Nutrition Lab
Extracting the facts about pomegranate pills
Legend has it that King Tut was fond of pomegranates, and so were the ancient Persians. They surely enjoyed the fruit in its natural form — not processed into pomegranate extract pills.
June 8, 2011
Ellen Warren: Eating breakfast to stay slim
When the diet expert told me, "Start eating," she totally had my attention.
4:04 PM CDT, May 11, 2011
Ellen Warren: Focus on the food when eating
Hardly any of us have what it takes to perform a full lifestyle makeover. But what about baby steps?
May 5, 2011
Jamie Oliver hits the road
In a downtown parking lot sits one of the most impressive things that Jamie Oliver, the chef-activist-TV personality, has brought to Los Angeles for his "Food Revolution" television show: a red-and-khaki-striped big rig tricked out as a traveling cooking school.
May 2, 2011
Lunch Box
When are salads less healthy?
A fellow perpetual dieter confessed recently that, on doctor's orders to lose some pounds, she'd been digging into salads at lunch, dousing the lettuce leaves with bottled "low fat" or "low calorie" dressings.
5:49 PM CDT, April 26, 2011
BOOSTER SHOTS: Oddities, musings and news from the health world
Sea salt confuses Americans, but then, so does wine
Sea salt is not a low-sodium version of table salt, but 61% of Americans believe it is.
April 21, 2011
Caveman diet draws grunts from nutritionists
Would adopting the diet our caveman ancestors supposedly ate allow modern-day Americans live longer, healthier lives?
April 14, 2011
A Seder without matzo
Skip the matzo this Passover for a meal that's healthful, kosher and gluten-free.
9:01 AM CDT, April 11, 2011
Diet drug Qnexa: Don't get too carried away by new study
The diet drug Qnexa helps obese people with weight-related medical conditions to lose more weight than those who take a dummy pill and could allow some to scale back on medications for diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol, according to a new study published online in the Lancet.
April 11, 2011
A Closer Look
A gray area over food dyes
Maraschino cherries, Cheetos, Gatorade and Froot Loops. The rainbow of colors in candies and decorated birthday cakes. The colors of these foods are not from nature — and depending whom you talk to, they are harmless fun or making kids bounce off walls.
3:58 PM CDT, April 8, 2011
BOOSTER SHOTS: Oddities, musings and news from the health world
Eating more carbs at dinner may help with weight loss and cholesterol levels, a study finds
Eating a low-calorie diet in which carbs have a heavier presence at dinner may offer a host of healthful benefits, a study finds.
3:27 PM CDT, April 6, 2011
How to identify, root out diet-derailers
Certain people and situations can derail the best diet and exercise intentions. But you can overcome them, says Dr. Thomas Clark, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of the Center for Weight Loss Success in Newport News, Va. Here's how:
Sodium countdown: 10 simple ways to lower your intake
How much does one teaspoon of salt hold? More and more Americans will likely find out the hard way, now that federal officials want people to reduce their daily sodium intake to less than 2,300 milligrams, or about 1 teaspoon of salt.
March 23, 2011
What's in the popcorn? Cinemas would rather not have to say
Movie-chain operators are fighting proposed federal nutrition disclosure rules on concession snacks, saying they're an unwarranted intrusion into their business.
3:06 PM CDT, March 16, 2011
Make your body earn/burn what it eats
All calories are not created equal. Some require more energy to digest, giving you "a bigger bang for your buck," says dietician Leslie Bonci, director of sports nutrition at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and an author of the upcoming book "The Active Calorie Diet." Some tips:
3:00 PM CDT, March 16, 2011
Fixation on healthy eating can turn very unhealthy
At the beginning, the goal seems innocent, smart even: a vow to eat more whole grains, or more fruits and vegetables. But healthy eating can turn rigid and confining, wiping out whole categories of food one by one — first anything with additives, perhaps, then maybe nonorganic produce, and then another and another.
3:11 PM CDT, March 16, 2011
Food finesse
The way you prepare your food can be just as important as what food you eat. Is there any point in eating broccoli, for example, if you cook the life out of its natural carcinogen killers? On the other hand, some foods, such as tomatoes, may offer more benefits when they're cooked.
March 10, 2011
Flour power: The joy of grinding your own
Life in the kitchen can be a real grind — and, in this case, that's a good thing.
3:36 PM CST, March 2, 2011
What berries can do for you
Berries are nutritional powerhouses whether they're eaten fresh, frozen, dried, freeze-dried or powdered. But can they protect our brain and memory, melt fat and prevent urinary tract infections?
10:37 PM CST, February 20, 2011
You can lead kids to broccoli, but you can't make them eat
Anyone who has ever tried to sneak healthy food into kids' lunches knows what Chicago Public Schools is going through.
February 2, 2011
'Eat less,' U.S. says as fast-food chains super-size their offerings
The government is telling Americans to eat less.
Video: New nutrition guidelines
To review the new nutrition guidelines, go to www.health.gov/DietaryGuidelines.
7:13 PM CST, January 25, 2011
Girl Scout Cookies and other sweets offer confusing labeling on trans fats
Girl Scout Cookies, whose ordering season finished last week in the Chicago area, came with an extra pledge this year.
January 10, 2011
Weight Watchers' new point system goes beyond calories
Fifty-six-year-old Lynn Kaufman of Los Angeles has maintained a healthful weight on Weight Watchers for 10 years. But she was snacking way too much on the wrong kind of stuff, she says — like 100-calorie cookie packs and hot chocolate.
January 9, 2011
NUTRITION LAB
Meat nutritional guidance in black and white
Beginning in 2012, dozens of popular cuts of raw meat will have "nutrition facts" labels listing total calories, calories from fat, total grams of fat and grams of saturated fat. Cholesterol, sodium, protein and vitamin content will also be given.
December 20, 2010
A reversal on carbs
Most people can count calories. Many have a clue about where fat lurks in their diets. However, fewer give carbohydrates much thought, or know why they should.
December 20, 2010
Cleaning up your carb act: Where to begin
Most Americans eat between 250 and 300 grams of carbohydrates a day, the equivalent of 1,000 to 1,200 calories. The Institute of Medicine, which sets dietary nutrient requirements, recommends 130 grams a day. Some, such as Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, say achieving that would be a big step in the right direction, but other low-carb advocates believe the number is too inflexible.
December 20, 2010
In-your-face fitness: holistic nutrition
Holistic nutrition is weak on science, strong on selling supplements
"Holistic nutrition." You may not know the term, but you've surely heard its claims. Among other things, holistic nutritionists (or HNs, as they call themselves) may teach that fluoride and pesticides are lethal, that most diseases and detrimental behaviors are diet-related and that many people would benefit from taking numerous supplements. I've read plenty of articles by HNs in which they assert that they are disparaged by mainstream medicine and warn you not to trust modern medicine.
December 13, 2010
Nutrition Lab
Enriched eggs, milk may not be best source for omega-3s
Milk and eggs have earned their place in the American diet because they're good sources of calcium and protein, respectively. These days, some brands are also being touted as a good source of another nutrient: omega-3s.
December 6, 2010
In-Your-Face Fitness
A Twinkie diet? It comes down to calories
When I tell people I'm on a high-carbohydrate diet, they give me a highly skeptical look, as if I just told them the moon landing was faked.
November 8, 2010
The food-mood connection
You've heard the claims: Chocolate evokes that loving feeling. Eating fish makes you smarter. Pure carbs calm you down. If you are what you eat, as they say, then it certainly stands to reason that food can influence mood and brain power.
June 28, 2010
Shaping how Americans eat: the debate rages
The U.S. government has just served up a heaping mouthful to people who eat — the Report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010.
May 31, 2010
The mysterious, dark-coated relationship between chocolate and mood
Many people will indulge in chocolate no matter its sugar content, fat content or purported health effects.
May 31, 2010
Nutrition Lab
Science picks through the chocolate nuggets
It's every sweet tooth's dream. A steady stream of studies has linked chocolate to a variety of health benefits, including decreased blood pressure, lower cholesterol, reduced risk of heart disease, even effects on mood.
April 5, 2010
Nutrition Lab
It takes more than breakfast to lower cholesterol
If you believe what you read in the cereal aisle, the right breakfast choice can lower your cholesterol — and cut your risk of heart disease.
February 22, 2010
Nutrition Lab: Joint pain supplements examined
With more than 46 million Americans diagnosed with arthritis, the market for joint pain supplements is enormous — and only set to grow as baby boomers age. "I call it the quiet epidemic," says Dr. Thomas Vangsness, professor of orthopedic surgery and chief of sports medicine at the USC Keck School of Medicine.
January 11, 2010
Nutrition Lab
All fibers may not be created equal
If your diet lacks fiber, it's your own fault. High levels of the cholesterol-lowering, regularity-inducing substance can now be found in many breads, pastas, cereals -- even yogurts, cakes and juices.
October 12, 2009
NUTRITION LAB
Sprouted-grain breads: The facts
Sprouted-grain bread offerings in the market have been slowly but steadily on the uptick of late, and a number of health claims have attached themselves to the spongy, nutty-tasting loaves: more digestible, richer in protein and higher in vitamins and minerals compared with other breads.
Help your body, watch your drinks
Vending machines are full of high calorie drinks, plenty of sugar and lots of mysterious ingredients. Avoid the fluff. Find drinks that will be as friendly to your health as they are to your taste buds.
Vegetables for healthy skin, infection protection
Summer is peeking its head out. With nice enough weather to have a regular workout outside and participate in outdoor activities, there will be more sun exposure. Skin protection should be all year-round but is especially important during the summer months. Check out these suggested vegetables for healthy skin and protection against infections.
Keeping takeout food safe
Holidays. Birthdays. Parties. Or, maybe you just don't feel like cooking. If you're visiting fast-food restaurants or sit-down restaurants, make sure to follow these tips to keep your takeout meal safe to eat--before and after you leave the restaurant location.
Vegetables for healthy blood pressure
Do you get a little nervous whenever your doctor or nurse has to take your blood pressure? Is it too high or too low? Try these vegetables to improve your potassium levels.
Watch your calorie count at coffee shops
When you head to a coffee shop, do you check the calorie count before you order? Does the extra fat and calories in whip cream deter you from ordering that hot chocolate? Or, are you more apt to go with the low fat or soy milk with your drinks? Find out some tips for healthier drinking at Starbucks.
Avoid trans fat on the menu
Trans fats keep food fresh longer while they're on grocery store shelves. However, the partially-hydrogenated oils can also lead to heart disease because of the increase in low-density lipoprotein LDL-cholesterol and decrease in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. Here are tips to control trans fat intake.
Healthy eating: Snacks under 105 calories
Instead of heading to the vending machine, why not bring your own snacks with way less calories? Here are snack and toppings that are 100 calories or less.
Vegetables for healthy teeth and gums
Do you cringe when you get that postcard in the mail about your next dental cleaning? Are you confident that your teeth are healthy? If not, try these vegetables that have Vitamin C to help keep your gums and teeth healthy.
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