Skip to main content

Diet and nutrition Archive

Articles

Naturally gluten-free foods

While gluten-free packaged foods offer convenience, whole foods like fruits, vegetables, proteins, dairy, and naturally gluten-free grains often provide better nutrition at lower cost. Building meals around these staples, rather than relying solely on specialty products, makes gluten-free eating easier to sustain.

What should people with thyroid nodules know about kelp?

Kelp contains a nutrient that affects thyroid function, making supplement choices important for people with nodules or other thyroid concerns.

Fermented foods for better gut health

Naturally fermented foods have been getting the attention of health experts because they contain beneficial probiotics that may help strengthen your gut biome — the bacteria and microorganisms in your digestive tract.

Nitrates in food and medicine: What's the story?

Nitrates are found in both leafy greens and processed meats. But it’s unclear how much these molecules matter compared with other components of those foods, as dietary nitrate levels have no proven link to heart disease risk.

MIND diet: Eating for better brain health

The MIND diet combines Mediterranean and DASH diet principles with an added emphasis on brain-healthy foods like leafy greens, whole grains, and fish. Linked in some studies with slower cognitive decline and lower dementia risk, it’s a flexible eating pattern with benefits at any age.

Oxalates, lectins, and phytates: Do these plant compounds sabotage your health?

“Anti-nutrients” like oxalates, lectins, and phytates are found in leafy greens, beans, and grains. They can slightly reduce absorption of some minerals, but aren’t reasons for most people to avoid these healthy foods. Food preparation and meal planning can help minimize such effects.

How can past substance use affect aging?

Past smoking, heavy drinking, and drug use can raise lasting questions about aging. Find out which factors shape future health and longevity.

When is treatment needed for high uric acid?

High uric acid doesn’t always mean daily treatment. Several factors, including gout symptoms and kidney health, can help guide the next step.

What should you know about atrial fibrillation without heart disease?

A new heart rhythm diagnosis can be unsettling, even when other tests look normal. Find out what to discuss with your doctor next.

Free Healthbeat Signup

Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox!

Sign Up
Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Thanks for visiting. Don't miss your FREE 32-page gift worth $29.95.

PLUS, don’t miss out on your 25% off promo code.

Sign up to get tips for living a healthy lifestyle—You’ll discover powerful, research- backed strategies for health longevity drawn from Harvard Medical School experts—ways to eat for a longer life, build strength and flexibility to stay independent, protect your bones, heart, and brain as you age, and even cultivate the habits linked with “super-agers” who stay sharp and active well into their 80s and 90s—all delivered to your email box FREE.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well!.

Harvard Health Publishing Logo

Stay on top of latest health news from Harvard Medical School.

Plus, get a FREE copy of Living Longer, Living Well.