Category Archives: Diet

Plenty of Surprises in New Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Every five years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services collaborate to publish the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The publication essentially serves as the U.S. government’s official food and beverage recommendations for Americans, based on the most recent health research and evidence. The guidelines aim to help people maintain a healthy weight and prevent chronic disease, while also providing educational institutions and healthcare providers with reliable dietary strategies and recommendations. They also help inform national health promotion programs, school lunches, food labels and various policies in many different industries and organizations. So, these Dietary Guidelines are extremely important for shaping what Americans eat and what they deem is healthy. The latest version, published last week, has some interesting surprises – and many health experts aren’t happy.

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Posted in Diet, Food, Health, Health Facts, News, Nutrition | 520 Comments

Study Says Coffee Extends Lifespan – For Some

There’s no doubt that coffee is one of America’s favorite beverages. According to the National Coffee Association, 59 percent of Americans currently drink a cup of coffee every day. Some sources indicate that American workers who buy coffee regularly throughout the week spend an average of $1,092 on coffee every year. Despite it’s popularity, however, the effects of coffee on health are somewhat nebulous. Many studies have shown that coffee can provide all sorts of health advantages, such as skin cancer prevention and mental benefits. On the other hand, coffee is thought to present problems for those with cholesterol issues or sleep problems – especially if it’s loaded with sugar. The latest study is another win for coffee lovers, but despite the study’s massive coverage in the media, the results actually aren’t universally positive.

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Posted in Diet, Food, Health, Health Facts, Medical, News, Nutrition, Studies | 998 Comments

Want to Lose Weight? Mindfulness Could Be the Key

There are many factors that come into play when considering why you or someone you know may be overweight. Unhealthy lifestyle choices like smoking or not getting enough sleep can contribute to a high body weight, while medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure can enable obesity as well. Of course, the most well-known factors for maintaining a healthy body weight involve getting enough exercise and regularly consuming a healthy diet. Apart from all of these, however, there’s one factor that is often overlooked when it comes to weight loss: the brain. Although it’s not widely understood, mental health issues such as depression have been linked to weight gain. This causes some to ask: could it be possible that the opposite is true as well? In other words, is a positive, in-the-moment mental outlook linked to lower body weight? A new study says it’s possible.

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Posted in Diet, Health, Mental Health, News, Studies, Weight Loss | 313 Comments

Omega-3 Supplements May Not Benefit the Brain After All

The benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids have been widely discussed in the past decade. Consuming foods high in Omega-3, such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, walnuts, flaxseed and soybeans, is though to help prevent many different health conditions, such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, eczema, depression, high blood pressure and osteoporosis. Omega-3 has even been shown to reduce breast cancer risk. But perhaps the most common belief about Omega-3 is that it’s good for the brain, helping to prevent Alzheimer’s and cognitive decline in general. This has caused fish oil supplements to become some of the widely used supplements in the country. Unfortunately, most studies have only shown a correlation between taking fish oil supplements and having better health – not a cause and effect. Now, an actual clinical trial throws the benefits of these supplements into question altogether.

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Posted in Diet, Food, Health, News, Nutrition, Studies | 1,908 Comments

Stress Eating: Study Says Stress Derails Diet by Lowering Self-Control

It’s a situation almost everybody has found themselves in at one time or another: you have a stressful day at work, you go home, collapse on the couch, and reach for the ice cream. Or potato chips. Or cookies. You end up eating most – if not all – of the pint/bag/box. If you’re trying to maintain a healthy diet, you’ve just obliterated any chance of meeting your daily goal. This phenomenon, commonly referred to as “stress eating,” “emotional eating” or, more colloquially, “eating your feelings,” is a real issue that’s been fairly widely studied. Most studies have shown that the stress hormone cortisol is responsible for stress eating. However, a new study published in the journal Neuron suggests that the problem is actually quite a bit more complicated. It also suggests that stress can lead to an overall reduction in self-regulatory behavior, which can affect more than just food choices.

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Posted in Diet, Food, Health, Health Facts, Mental Health, News, Nutrition, Studies, Weight Loss | 2,219 Comments