Healthy Eating Archive

In a large 2024 study, people who ate more plant-based proteins than animal proteins had the lowest risks of developing cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease, compared with those who ate more animal proteins than plant-based proteins.

Doctors are rethinking their recommendations about a supplement used to help slow dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD). They're advising people to keep taking the pill even when they reach the late stage of the disease. Previously, the supplement—a cocktail of antioxidant nutrients known as the AREDS2 formula—was believed to slow disease progression only in the beginning and intermediate stages of dry AMD. New evidence suggests the supplement might also slow vision loss in late-stage dry AMD.

Social media sources may share misleading information about canola, soybean, and other seed oils. But these oils, which consist mostly of unsaturated fat, can be a good source of heart-healthy fat when combined with whole, fresh foods rather than in processed foods like crunchy, salty, or sweet snack foods. Consuming unsaturated fat in place of saturated fat (found mainly in animal-based foods) is linked to a lower risk of heart attack and death from heart disease.

We can learn much from people who continue to live productive lives into their 80s and 90s. Doctors in this demographic have a unique perspective as they have the lessons from their decades of medical practice and their personal experiences dealing with Father Time. Here, two Harvard physicians — Dr. Marshall Wolf, 87, and Dr. Mitchell Rabkin, 94 — share lessons they've learned over the decades from their practice and personal life about how they keep their body and mind strong, healthy, and thriving.

A gluten-free diet (which omits wheat, rye, and barley) may be low in fiber, a nutrient that's important for cardiovascular health. People who avoid gluten should try to include gluten-free grains and seeds in their menus, such as amaranth, buckwheat, millet, sorghum, teff, and quinoa. Carrots, celery, kale, and kiwis contain mostly insoluble fiber, which helps you feel full and encourages regular bowel movements. Beans, nuts, seeds, and fruits (such as berries, apples, pears, and citrus fruits) are good sources of soluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol and blood sugar.