Healthy Eating Archive

Research we're watching

If the contents of your lunch bag are looking less than wholesome, you're not alone. A survey sponsored by the American Heart Association found that more than half of Americans who eat lunch at work reported that their midday meal often falls short when it comes to good nutrition. In addition, 91% of those surveyed said they would be interested in making healthier lunch choices. So, what's making people choose less healthful lunch options? Top reasons included the convenience of unhealthy foods (cited by 60% of respondents), taste (54%), and a lack of healthy food options (cited by 43%). If you're looking to improve your own lunch quality, the American Heart Association offers some tips on its website at www.heart.org/healthyforlife.

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Intestinal gas can be embarrassing, but is a normal part of digestion. Only rarely is excess gas cause for concern. Which foods you eat –– and how you digest them –– can make a difference.

Nuts and seeds are rich in fiber, which is important for gut health and keeping you regular. And, contrary to a common concern, no evidence links eating nuts and seeds to a painful gut infection called diverticulitis.

Unlike many other common bean varieties, soybeans don't usually show up in canned or dried forms on super-market shelves. But other versions of this versatile legume can be found in many sections of well-stocked stores.

In the freezer section, for example, you can find packaged green soybeans, usually still in their pods (pictured above). Called edamame — a Japanese word meaning "stem beans" — they're commonly served as an appetizer in Asian restaurants. Squeeze the pods to pop out the bright green beans, which are good source of fiber and several vitamins, most notably B₉ (folate) and K. Soybeans are a complete protein, meaning they contain all nine essential amino acids.

Research we're watching

Eating ultra-processed foods — such as packaged snacks, sugary cereals and drinks, chicken nuggets, and instant soup — may leave people more prone to heart disease and an early death, two new studies suggest. Both were published May 29 in The BMJ.

One study followed more than 105,000 adults for just over five years. Researchers found that for every 10% increase in the amount of ultra-processed foods people ate, their risk of a heart attack, stroke, or other serious cardiovascular event was 12% higher. The other study tracked nearly 20,000 people over an average of 10 years. People who ate more than four servings of ultra-processed foods daily had a 62% higher risk of dying from all causes compared with those who ate only two servings per day.

This approach to eating has numerous health benefits. What's the best way to follow it?

For years, the Mediterranean diet has been touted for its heart- and cancer-fighting abilities, and countless studies have backed up its reputation as one of the world's healthiest eating patterns.

So what is the best way to begin eating the Mediterranean way? Approach it as a lifestyle and not a structured, rules-oriented diet, suggests Dr. Qi Sun, associate professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

In the journals

Eating large amounts of red meat can raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, but new research suggests you should curb your intake of white meat, too. The findings were published online June 4, 2019, by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers randomly assigned 113 healthy adults, ages 21 to 65, to follow a four-week diet with high levels of either red meat, white meat (chicken and turkey), or plant-based protein (such as nuts, whole grains, soy products, and legumes). Afterward, LDL levels in the high-red-meat diet group rose, as predicted, but the researchers found that high levels of poultry had the same effect on LDL levels as red meat.

At least one additive — a preservative called propionate — could be linked to diabetes and obesity.

Scientists are giving food additives and other ingredients more scrutiny these days, thanks to new technology that allows them to get an up-close view of how individual molecules affect the body. And they are already discovering some surprising information that could change what you put on your plate in the future.

Consider propionate, or propionic acid, a naturally oc-curring fatty acid and a common preservative found in everything from bread and animal feeds to pudding and cheese. A study published online April 24 by Science Translational Medicine found that this ingredient may disrupt the metabolism, triggering the body to produce excess glucose (blood sugar), which could lead to diabetes and obesity.

A substance called trimethylamine N-oxide, which is produced when your body digests red meat, may raise the risk of cardiovascular problems.

Experts used to think that red meat raised your risk of heart disease simply because it was high in saturated fat. But today that picture has gotten more complicated thanks to the discovery of a metabolite — a substance produced during digestion and metabolism — called trimethylamine N-oxide, or TMAO.

According to a news article published June 11 in JAMA, three recent analyses have linked high blood levels of TMAO with a higher risk for both cardiovascular disease and early death from any cause. In one of those studies, researchers found that people with higher levels of TMAO in their blood may have more than twice the risk of heart attack, stroke, or other serious cardiovascular problems, compared with people who have lower levels. Other studies have found links between high TMAO levels and heart failure and chronic kidney disease.

News briefs

We already know that a diet rich in red meat is linked to many health problems, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer. Now a Harvard-led study published online June 12, 2019, by BMJ suggests that boosting your red meat intake increases your risk for early death. Scientists analyzed questionnaire answers about health and diet provided by more than 81,000 healthy men and women between 1986 and 2010. In particular, researchers looked at whether changes in red meat consumption during an eight-year period of the study affected the risk of death eight years later. The findings: An increase of just half a serving of processed red meat per day was associated with a 13% higher risk for dying young from any cause; an additional half-serving of unprocessed red meat increased the risk by 9%. On the flip side, decreasing total red meat consumption and increasing the consumption of nuts, fish, poultry without skin, dairy, eggs, whole grains, or vegetables was tied to a lower risk of death. The takeaway: Try to curb your appetite for red and processed meats like bacon, salami, and hot dogs. Eat more poultry, fish, or plant-based proteins (like beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds), along with the other components of a healthy diet.

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