Health & Diet News

A new study suggests the key factor in black Americans’ higher blood pressure risk is the traditional Southern diet -- with its deep-fried foods, pecan pies and other tasty but nutritionally dubious fare.

New research suggests that if you're marketing protein-rich insects as edibles, emphasizing flavor and luxury is key.

Coke's interest signals the growing acceptance of cannabis by established companies, and of the importance of Canada to the development of those businesses, the wire service said.

Americans still eat more meat than health experts recommend. High meat consumption has negative consequences for people's health and the environment, according to scientists at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore.

The posting of nutrition information on restaurant menus and order boards has led customers to order 3 percent fewer calories, a study by Cornell University researchers has found.

Not getting enough carbs can be bad. Eating too many carbs is bad. What's a person to do?

Researchers who followed more than 15,000 people in the United States for a median of 25 years found that moderate consumption of carbohydrates (50 to 55 percent of calories) was associated with the lowest risk of early death. The better-known low-carb and high-carb diets were associated with higher risk of early death.

The researchers also found that caffeine did not affect how the participants perceived their appetites, and that body mass index (BMI -- an estimate of body fat based on height and weight) had no effect on how caffeine affected appetite or how much people ate.

The wild meat consumed by Otzi was eaten fresh or perhaps dried. The presence of toxic bracken particles could be due to Otzi taking bracken as a way to treat intestinal problems caused by parasites, or by using the leaves to wrap food.

Nearly a century after Mayo Clinic physicians developed it as a last-ditch therapy for epileptic children, the ketogenic diet is back and hitting the mainstream, lauded as everything from a quick way to drop pounds to a promising therapy for neurological problems.

These findings jibe with suggestions that snacks like nacho-flavored chips are foods perfectly engineered to push your buttons, containing "the right combo of fat, carb and salt," said Dr. Mitchell Roslin, chief of obesity surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

People on the West Coast and in the Northeast have been quick to embrace this healthy eating plan. But it has yet to catch on in parts of the South and some Midwest states, the study showed.

Low vitamin D levels have been linked to poor bone health, as well as increased risk for respiratory infection, autoimmune disorders and heart disease.

Study volunteers completed a survey about what types and how much food they ate over the past month. The survey included almost 400 food items.

The new nutrition information is meant to reflect current scientific knowledge, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease, according to the FDA.

Adults who exceed the one-drink-a-day limit can expect to die at a younger age than those who do not.

The new tax adds 1.5 cents per ounce to the cost of sugared and diet beverages, including sodas, fruit drinks and energy drinks -- 18 cents for a 12-ounce container. The drinks have been linked to unhealthy diets and obesity.

EWG researchers this year found that more than 98% of samples of strawberries, along with spinach, peaches, nectarines, cherries and apples, tested positive for residue of at least one pesticide.

Researchers analyzed data from 450,000 people in the U.K. Biobank -- which includes biological samples from hundreds of thousands of people -- to examine links between different versions of the FGF21 gene, diet, body fat and blood pressure.

Eating pasta as part of a low-glycemic index (GI) diet results in modest weight loss, compared with a higher-GI diet, a new study found.

Researchers compared the effects of carbohydrates consumed during sports and found that bananas provide comparable or greater anti-inflammatory and other benefits than sports drinks.

The investigators found that those who consumed more protein than recommended levels did not have increases in lean body mass, muscle performance, physical function or other measures of well-being, compared to men with normal levels of dietary protein.

The findings suggest that old-fashioned home-cooked meals could be one way for people to reduce their intake of phthalates -- which have been linked to certain health risks.

People who reduced their caloric intake by just 15 percent over two years experienced a significant decrease in their metabolism, according to a small  clinical trial.

Five large beer and liquor makers promised to provide $67.7 million of the $100 million cost of the study, and their donations are being made through the Foundation for the NIH.