Nutrition Archive

Research we're watching

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Want to maintain your muscle strength as you age? A study in the July issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that eating protein at breakfast, lunch, and dinner may help.

While it has been long thought that when you got your protein during the day didn't make a difference as long as your intake was sufficient, emerging research shows that this may not be the case. Researchers in this study looked at a group of 1,741 healthy older men and women in Canada and followed them for three years. They assessed the participants' strength and mobility at the outset of the study, and then tracked their diets and reassessed their strength at the end of the study period. People who ate protein at all three meals throughout the day were stronger at the beginning and the end of the study than those who mostly ate their protein only at dinner — even if they ate roughly the same amount of protein over all.

Find out a Harvard Medical School doctor’s secret to a quick, budget friendly, and simple healthy breakfast.

Beans, lentils, chickpeas, and other "pulses" are loaded with protein, fiber, and other nutrients.

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Legumes are great sources of protein for those on a meat-free diet. Lately one branch of the legume family has been in the international spotlight. "Pulses" are legumes that are harvested for their dried seeds, such as chickpeas (garbanzo beans), lentils, and dried peas and beans. They're such an important protein source that the United Nations declared 2016 the International Year of the Pulses.

"When we as nutritionists talk about beans, most of them are pulses — kidney beans, navy beans, black beans, broad beans, lima beans, butter beans — there are quite a few," says registered dietitian Kathy ­McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital. By contrast, legumes such as soybeans, peanuts, peapods, and green beans don't count as pulses.

News briefs

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If you haven't been good about eating a healthy diet, take heart: A Harvard study published July 13, 2017, in The New England Journal of Medicine found that changing to one of three scientifically developed healthy eating programs was associated with longer life. The healthy diets included the Alternate Healthy Eating Index, the Alternate Mediterranean Diet, and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. Scientists looked at self-reported diet and health data from nearly 74,000 healthy men and women who significantly improved their diets and maintained them for 12 years. Scientists then looked at participants' risk of death for another 12 years. The results: people who improved their diet the most were up to 17% less likely to die, whereas those whose diets worsened the most were up to 14% more likely to die. This study strongly indicates that improving your diet, even if you start in middle age, can add years to your life — and vice versa. If you're re-evaluating your diet, check out the Harvard Special Health Report Healthy Eating for a Healthy Heart (www.health.harvard.edu/HEHH).

News briefs

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As we reported in May 2016, regularly drinking coffee is associated with lower blood pressure, less weight gain with aging, and less chance of developing type 2 diabetes or dying from cardiovascular or neurological diseases. Now a pair of 16-year studies published July 10, 2017, in Annals of Internal Medicine link coffee drinking with longevity. One study analyzed the coffee consumption of more than 520,000 men and women. People who drank three or more cups of coffee per day — either caffeinated or decaffeinated — were up to 12% less likely to die during the study, compared with people who didn't drink coffee. The other study involved more than 185,000 middle-age or older coffee drinkers who were African American, Native Hawaiian, Japanese American, Latino, or white. Those who drank four or more cups per day were 18% less likely to die for any reason during the study period compared with nondrinkers. This was the first large study of coffee drinking and longevity that included a racially and ethnically diverse group of people. The findings from these studies suggest, but don't prove, that regular coffee drinking helps you live longer. The beneficial effect of coffee seemed to plateau at more than four cups per day.

Research we're watching

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Want to help improve your cholesterol profile? Swap your midmorning muffin for a handful of almonds, suggests a study in the Aug. 1, 2017, Journal of Nutrition.

Nutritionists have long known that eating almonds and other nuts tends to lower harmful LDL cholesterol and raise desirable HDL cholesterol. But recent evidence suggests that the heart-protecting effects of HDL depend on a person's particular complement of the various forms of HDL, some of which are more beneficial than others.

On call

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Q. I keep hearing about how great coffee is for your health. Is this just hype, or are there real benefits?

A. Multiple studies have associated drinking coffee with reduced rates of diseases, such as diabetes, kidney stones, and dementia. However, just because people who drink coffee appear to get certain health benefits, these types of studies don't prove that the coffee itself is the reason.

Ask the doctors

Q. I recently decided to give up soda and switched to flavored seltzer water. Is this a better choice for my health?

A. First, congratulations on giving up soda. Sugary drinks like soda have been linked to an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart problems, and other chronic health conditions, so that is definitely a win for your health. Switching to seltzer is a much better choice, provided you choose a brand that is sugar- and calorie-free.

Let's cover the original misinformation first: The earliest missives warned that microwaved plastic releases cancer-causing chemicals called dioxins into food. The problem with that warning is that plastics don't contain dioxins. They are created when garbage, plastics, metals, wood, and other materials are burned. As long as you don't burn your food in a microwave, you aren't exposing yourself to dioxins.

Migrating chemicals

There's no single substance called "plastic." That term covers many materials made from an array of organic and inorganic compounds. Substances are often added to plastic to help shape or stabilize it. Two of these plasticizers are