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The US government has scrapped the much-maligned food pyramid icon and replaced it with a fruit- and vegetable-rich plate, seeking a simpler way to show Americans how to eat right. While it’s a major improvement, the new icon still falls short on giving people the nutrition advice they need to choose the healthiest diets. The new […] Continue reading

Why you should take the latest sodium study with a huge grain of salt A new study would have you believe that low-salt diets raise your risk of dying from heart disease—a surprising finding, and one that’s sure to grab headlines worldwide. The only problem is that the study’s conclusions are most certainly wrong. Continue reading

The long-awaited new U.S. dietary guidelines are a step in the right direction, but they don’t go quite far enough to spell out what Americans need to do to stay healthy—not a surprise, some critics say, given the strong influence of the food industry on U.S. food policy. The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released […] Continue reading

Walmart, the largest retailer in the U.S., has pledged to cut the trans fat, salt, and sugar from thousands of its grocery products by 2015 in the U.S.—and to cut prices on produce and other healthy foods. Continue reading

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has come under fire from politicians and potato lobbyists over its proposal to cut back on French fries and potatoes in school lunch and offer broccoli and other vegetables instead. Yet its plan is based on sound science—and could help turn around this country’s obesity and diabetes epidemics. Continue reading

One of the longest-running feuds in modern nutrition science revolves around a simple question: Will reducing salt intake save lives? Continue reading

If a baker’s dozen of nutrition experts has its way, Americans will soon be eating more foods that deliver healthful nutrients and fewer foods chock full of empty calories and salt, exercising more, and maintaining healthy weights. Even nutrition experts can dream, can’t they? The final report of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee was […] Continue reading

When rushing through the supermarket, who has time to pore over Nutrition Facts labels and compare ingredient lists? That’s why more than a dozen rating systems have been established to help shoppers identify healthful products. (1) Some, like the Guiding Stars program in Hannaford supermarkets, put rating information on food shelf tags below various products. […] Continue reading

Adding a penny per ounce tax to sugar-sweetened beverages could slow the growth of obesity in the U.S.—and could raise billions of dollars for obesity prevention and other health programs, according to a new analysis by seven public health experts in The New England Journal of Medicine.(1) Continue reading