Dietary patterns Archive

Experts recommend one or two servings of fish per week. But healthy vegetarian meals are a good alternative.

 Image: © amriphoto/Getty Images

Eating fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, or mackerel at least once a week may help prevent heart attacks and other serious cardiovascular problems. That's according to a recent scientific advisory from the American Heart Association, which reaffirms a long-held observation about the health benefits of seafood.

You'll potentially reel in the biggest benefit if you replace less healthy foods — such as red meat or processed meats — with seafood entrees. For example, choose salmon over steak, and swap the ham on your sandwich for tuna.

 Image: © Elenathewise/Getty Images

A salad is a great way to meet your daily vegetable requirement — just toss a few of your favorite veggies together with lettuce or other greens. Most grocery stores sell a variety of salad greens (separate or mixed), prewashed and bagged for convenience. Arugula and watercress are peppery, dandelion and escarole are bitter, mâche and iceberg are sweet, and a green called tatsoi has a mustard flavor. Baby spinach is another popular option.

The USDA recommends two to three cups of vegetables per day for adults. But because greens aren't very dense, it actually takes about two cups of raw greens to make the nutritional equivalent of a one-cup serving of vegetables.

These strategies keep you healthy and safe through your 60s, 70, and 80s.

 Image: © kali9/Getty Images

After age 60, men tend to get thrown together — the so-called 60-and-older group — even though most are quite different in terms of their health.

"While many men are still very fit well into their 60s, 70s, and 80s, others face health challenges and chronic diseases that make daily living difficult," says Dr. Howard LeWine, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Research we're watching

 Image: © weiXx/Getty Images

Pictures may be more effective than words in helping consumers make healthier choices. A new study, published online June 18 by Psychological Science, found that using warning labels that included photos to outline the health risks of sugary drinks appeared to be more effective than written warnings in encouraging people to choose healthier drinks.

Researchers tested two different types of warnings for sugary beverages: warnings with photos and text, and text-only warnings. The warnings were placed near bottled and fountain drinks in a cafeteria at a Massachusetts hospital at different times. During the study period, there were more than 20,000 drinks sold.

ARCHIVED CONTENT: As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date each article was posted or last reviewed. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician. 

Q. I have started noticing more coconut oil at the grocery store and have heard it is better for you than a lot of other oils. Is that true?

News briefs

 Image: © filadendron/Getty Images

What's the secret to living longer? A Harvard study published online April 30, 2018, by Circulation suggests that it may come down to five healthy habits: eating a healthy diet, exercising daily, keeping a healthy body weight, drinking alcohol only in moderation, and not smoking. Researchers combed through information from two large studies that tracked more than 123,000 men and women for about three decades. Scientists estimated that life expectancy for study participants (at age 50) was 79 for women and 75 for men, if they didn't maintain healthy habits. But if they adopted all five habits, life expectancy at age 50 jumped to 93 for women and 87 for men. And following even one healthy habit was associated with a lower risk for dying young. The study is only observational and doesn't prove that healthy habits extend your life. But the findings build on similar research. "It's never too late to make positive lifestyle changes. Even for those who are 70 or older, following a healthy lifestyle such as eating a healthy diet and being physically active can add more years to life," says Dr. Frank Hu, senior author of the study and chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Learn the most common sources of sodium in your diet and some easy substitutions you can make.

 Image: © yosmanor/Getty Images

If you think steering clear of potato chips, pretzels, and other savory snacks is the best way to trim salt from your diet, think again. Yes, those foods are salty — but they only rank no. 7 on the top 10 sources of sodium (a major component of salt) in the average American's diet.

The category of bread and rolls tops the list, which is based both on sodium content and how often people eat the foods. Bread is not especially salty, but we eat a lot of it, as well as similar foods such as hamburger and hot dog buns, bagels, and English muffins.