Diet & Weight Loss Archive

Image: iStock

Smartphone apps encourage you to take an active role in monitoring and boosting health.

When it comes to healthy hearts, technology is playing a greater role than ever, and not just in the doctor's office. Now nearly anyone can use computer programs designed to improve heart health, thanks to downloadable applications (apps) for smartphones, tablets, and home computers. They're part of a trend known as mobile health or mhealth. "In general, health apps can provide very valuable information, as long as you understand their limitations," says Dr. Randall Zusman, a cardiologist with the Corrigan-Minehan Heart Center at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital and a Harvard Medical School associate professor.

Image: Thinkstock

Plan now to help prevent overeating, trips to the hospital, and depression.

The winter holidays are supposed to be a joyous time, filled with celebration. But they come with health risks, such as loneliness and depression, overeating, weight gain, falls in icy weather, foodborne illness, and heart problems. Here are ways to protect yourself while enjoying the season.

Image: Thinkstock

News briefs

Adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet is a good idea for many reasons, and weight control is one of them. But some vegetables are associated with weight gain, according to a Harvard study published Sept. 22, 2015, in PLOS Medicine. Researchers analyzed weight and diet changes in about 118,000 people over 24 years, at roughly four-year intervals. On average, people who increased their intake of fruits (especially berries, apples, and pears) and most vegetables, especially high-fiber, low-glycemic-load vegetables such as broccoli and Brussels sprouts, lost a little weight. In contrast, people who ate more starchy vegetables—peas and corn, for example—tended to pack on more pounds over time. This didn't prove that certain vegetables caused weight gain. "But we suspect the association may have something to do with the fact that starchy vegetables have a high glycemic load, meaning they spike blood sugar more than other foods," says Dr. Monica Bertoia, a Harvard Medical School instructor and lead author of the study.

Image: Thinkstock

Research we're watching

Eating more fruits and vegetables can help you control your weight, but the type of produce you choose may make a difference, a new study finds.

Researchers tracked nearly 118,000 people in their 30s and 40s, collecting information about their eating habits every four years for 24 years. They found that over a four-year period, people who ate an extra daily serving of fruit shed about a half pound of weight, while those who ate an extra daily serving of vegetables lost a quarter-pound, on average.

Q. I've been drinking Fresca since I was in college. Lately I've been reading that diet drinks may cause weight gain and have other bad effects. Is that true?

A. There is some controversy about whether drinking diet soda helps or hurts in maintaining or achieving a healthy weight. Some studies show that people who consume artificially sweetened drinks take in fewer calories and are better able to control their weight. However, other studies show the opposite—that consuming diet drinks may result in weight gain as well as type 2 diabetes.

Planning ahead can help you navigate the hazards of holiday overindulgence.

Among 400 postmenopausal women who were previously inactive, those who did 300 minutes per week of moderate or high intensity exercise had more success at reducing total fat after one year than those who exercised for 150 minutes per week.

Rising blood sugar signals a need for weight loss and more exercise.

Whenever you have routine blood tests at a physical exam, chances are one of the numbers will be a measurement of your glucose, or blood sugar. A normal blood sugar level is less than 100 milligrams per deciliter of blood (mg/dL) after an eight-hour fast. You have diabetes if your blood sugar is 126 mg/dL or higher. But between those two numbers lie many opportunities for action.

Weight gain might be one of the most dreaded “side effects” of quitting smoking. Constant reminders of the health dangers of being overweight lead some smokers to think that smoking is “safer” than the weight they might gain if they quit. But that’s just not the case. It’s true that people tend to gain 5-10 pounds in the first six months after they stop smoking. But a recent study suggested that for those who quit, weight gain slows down over the following 10 years after quitting. Over that same time period, people who continued to smoke also gained some weight, though not as much. Over all, kicking the habit doesn’t have to mean a larger waistline, especially if you plan ahead.

Both eating plans have proven health benefits. Deciding which to follow depends on your goals and preferences.

The DASH diet has been named the best diet in the United States by U.S. News and World Report. However, the U.S. government panel writing the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans cited the Mediterranean diet as an example of how we should eat. If you're trying to choose the best eating plan to lower your health risks, which one should it be?