Research Roundup

Noteworthy nutrition studies highlighted by members of The Chan School’s Department of Nutrition Glyphosate, the primary active ingredient in the herbicide “Roundup,” is a broad-spectrum, non-selective, systemic herbicide, which effectively kills all plant types. Glyphosate-based herbicide was introduced to the US in 1974 and now has become the world’s most common herbicide. Continue reading

How is heart disease risk affected when saturated fat is replaced by other nutrients?

In the recent Harvard Gazette article “Butter’s benefits melt away,” researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health debunk the controversy surrounding saturated fat and heart health. In a new study appearing online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, senior author Frank Hu and colleagues found that people who replace saturated […] Continue reading

National Geographic Foods for Health

Foods for Health: Choose and Use the Very Best Foods for Your Family and Our Planet (National Geographic) by Barton Seaver and Dr. P.K. Newby: Eat for life. With every food choice you make—every meal you prepare, serve, and enjoy—you are shaping the future. Choose well, and you build the foundation for strength, longevity, and a healthy brain and […] Continue reading

Eating Spicy Food Linked to a Longer Life

Eating spicy food is associated with a reduced risk for death, according to an analysis of dietary data on more than 485,000 people enrolled in a large Chinese health study from 2004 to 2008. Researchers found that compared with eating hot food (mainly chili peppers) less than once a week, once or twice a week […] Continue reading

The Healthy Eating Plate, now in Greek

The Healthy Eating Plate is now available in Greek, providing another example of how to create a Mediterranean diet. There isn’t one specific Mediterranean diet, as there are multiple countries that border the Mediterranean Sea — each with its own foods, eating patterns, and lifestyles — but there are some similarities that help define a Mediterranean eating […] Continue reading

5 tips for sustainable eating

As we become a more food-savvy society, consumers are looking beyond the supermarket shelf and exploring how their food is produced. Where does all this food come from? Consider that, for example, livestock production – which includes meat, milk and eggs – contributes 40 percent of global agricultural gross domestic product, and uses one-third of […] Continue reading

The new focus on sustainability: The Dietary Guidelines for Americans and for our planet

What are the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and who creates them? The Dietary Guidelines for Americans were first released in 1980, providing science-based advice to encourage individuals to eat a healthful diet and for the formation of federal food and nutrition and nutrition education programs that help Americans achieve and maintain a healthy weight, promote […] Continue reading

Menus of Change

Sustainability’s importance is far-reaching, and an increasing number of organizations are embracing its principles. Players in the sustainability movement include individuals shopping at farmers markets, to schools incorporating more local produce in school lunches, to the food industry and academic institutions. Continue reading