Healthy Eating Archive

People who followed a balanced diet consisting of a good mix of healthy foods like lean meats, vegetables, fruit, and dairy, with occasional processed foods had the highest scores of cognitive function compared with other eating patterns, according to a 2024 study.

Vacation activities are often healthier than everyday habits. Since heart disease and cancer are linked to lifestyle choices people can change, such as poor diet and inactivity, maintaining habits fostered on vacation can improve overall health. These habits include spending more time outdoors, moving more, spending less time online, eating a more varied diet, dining more with others, getting more sleep, and engaging their brain in novel ways.

I was surprised to see an ad in one of my cooking magazines promoting palm oil as a healthy fat. I thought it was supposed to be really bad for you. What's the story?

A vegetarian diet can meet all a person's nutritional needs if planned thoughtfully. Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts, avoid saturated fats, watch calories and portions, and be physically active.

Women and men require different nutritional approaches to promote muscle recovery after exercise. Optimally, women should refuel within 45 minutes, while men have up to three hours. Hormone differences drive women's faster post-workout muscle breakdown. During the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, women may also crave more carbohydrates and want to eat more. Women should consume about 20 grams of protein within 45 minutes of working out. If fat loss is desired, women should cut calories at other times of the day, not after exercise.

A 2023 study suggests habitually adding salt to food may raise the odds of developing chronic kidney disease, which increases the risks of heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure.

There are many varieties of low-carb diets.  Each has its unique approach and some may help jump-start a weight-loss program, But long-term use of very low-carb diets can lack essential micronutrients and may raise the risk of health problems.