Archive for January 2018

Every few years there seems to be another diet trumpeting the need to keep potatoes off your kitchen playlist. When prepared right, however, the humble spud is more of a nutritional saint than a villain.

In the past decade or so, a number of studies have suggested that high exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical compound used in the lining of many canned foods and drinks (as well as in plastics, to make them tougher), could raise the risk for everything from heart disease to diabetes to weight gain.

While meat remains the primary protein source for most Americans, it appears that more people are considering serving up chickpeas instead of chicken more often. According to the market research firm Nielsen, 22% of Americans plan to cut back on their meat intake, and 15% of those surveyed wish to bump up their intake of plant proteins like legumes, nuts and seeds, according to a 2017 report from FoodNavigator-USA.

From previous research, we know that eating together as a family tends to improve the nutritional status of the children in the household and reduce their risk of becoming overweight. But less has been known about how the emotional climate of mealtimes influences the foods children choose to eat.

No wonder so many people drown their coffee in sugar and gravitate toward saccharine breakfast foods. In 2017, the Journal of Food Science reported that people rated a sweetened caffeinated coffee as less sweet than a sweetened decaf coffee. A sugar solution consumed after the coffee was also deemed less sweet in the caffeine trial. Interestingly, there was no impact on other taste sensations, namely bitter, sour, salty or umami. Caffeine appears to dull receptors in our sweet-sensitive taste cells.

Question: I know chocolate is considered a healthy snack, but are all kinds of chocolate healthy?
Answer: Chocolate has complex flavors, amazing mouthfeel and myriad phytochemicals, including polyphenolic compounds with antioxidant activity (Katz, Doughty & Ali 2011). It is linked to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes and even improved mood (Mostofsky et al. 2017; Scholey & Owen 2014; Sorenson & Astrup 2011).

Weight loss efforts often focus on what and how much food we eat. But it turns out we should also think about when calories go down our gullets. Based on dietary data from more than 50,000 adults, a recent study in The Journal of Nutrition reported that people who consumed their largest meal of the day at breakfast had a lower average body mass index than those who ate their most substantial meal at dinner, even when overall calorie count was similar.