Nutrition

Humans have an evolutionary preference for sweetness. Sweet foods, like fruit and honey, were an important energy source for our ancestors.However, in the modern world, sweetened foods are readily available, very cheap, and advertised extensively. Now, we are consuming too much sugar in foods and drinks – the kind that is added rather than sugar that is naturally occurring.  Consuming too much added sugar is bad news for health. It is linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and tooth decay.Because of these health concerns,…

Image: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)An extra dose of vitamin D probably won’t make the average person’s bones any stronger. New research from a large-scale, placebo-controlled, and randomized clinical trial out Wednesday has found no evidence that taking vitamin D supplements reduces the risk of bone fractures in healthy older adults.The study comes from researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts. The team looked through data from an existing research project:…

Florida's outbreak of listeria has so far led to at least one death, 22 hospitalizations and an ice cream recall since January.Humans get sick with listeria infections, or listeriosis, from eating soil-contaminated food, undercooked meat or dairy products that are raw, or unpasteurized. Listeria can cause convulsions, coma, miscarriage and birth defects. And it's the third leading cause of food poisoning deaths in the US.  Avoiding unseen food hazards is the reason people often check the dates on food packaging. And…

As the world continues to fight COVID-19, the menace of infectious disease has never been more apparent. The next devastating pandemic could strike plants. Agricultural pathogens are evolving and spreading at a troubling rate—and the COVID pandemic offers important lessons for how we should prepare for them. Plant diseases can be catastrophic. One of the worst was Panama disease, which destroyed banana plantations in Central and South America in the 1950s, devastating a critical food source and industry. Panama Disease…

Source: Daniel Bader / iMore Popular Canadian nutrition company Cronometer has today unveiled a new Apple Watch app that will bring calorie tracking right to your wrist. The company stated: Since its introduction in 2014, the Apple Watch has gained its fair share of the wearable market. And for good reason; it's a versatile do-it-all watch that can be invaluable to help keep track of your health. It's really no wonder the device has reached over 100 million users worldwide. The Cronometer Apple Watch app will be an…

Shelves normally meant for baby formula sit nearly empty at a store in downtown Washington, DC, on May 22, 2022.Samuel Corum | AFP | Getty ImagesAbbott Nutrition on Saturday resumed baby formula production at its Sturgis, Michigan, plant, a move toward addressing a nationwide shortage.The company has been given the green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after meeting "initial requirements" as part of a May 16 consent decree.The company said it will restart the production of EleCare, a formula for children…

You've probably read the stories proclaiming that eating blueberries reduces your risk of dementia, or red wine is good for your heart, or coffee protects against type 2 diabetes – or, indeed, many of the other big health claims for a particular "superfood". But what is the truth in these statements?  While we – a group of nutritional scientists – have been involved in this kind of research, we are not responsible for the headlines. Underneath those attention-grabbing stories, however, there is important and serious…

Baby formula is offered for sale at a big box store on January 13, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois.Scott Olson | Getty ImagesThe U.S. will increase baby formula imports as part of an effort to ease a nationwide shortage, senior Biden administration officials said on Thursday.The scarcity of formula was triggered in part by the closure of a Michigan manufacturing plant after two infants who consumed its products caught bacterial infections and died.The Food and Drug Administration will announce specific actions to boost formula…

Etekcity Smart Food Nutrition Scale MSRP $39.99 “This smart food scale tracks the weight and nutritional content, but isn't the most intuitive device.” Pros Accurate readings Pre-loaded nutritional data Connect with Fitbit Cons Not intuitive to use out of the box When it comes…