Healthy Eating Archive

Here's how to keep your daily salt intake in check.

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Most men probably consume too much sodium, and new federal guidelines are aimed at helping them curb their habit.

The FDA advises no more than 2,300 milligrams (mg) of sodium daily—the amount in about 1 teaspoon of salt. (People with prehypertension and hypertension should limit their intake to 1,500 mg, roughly the amount in 3/4 tea-spoon of salt.)

Ask the doctor

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Q. I love dried fruit and thought it was healthy. But I hear that you gain a lot of weight eating dried fruit, which is not healthy. What's the truth?

A. The truth is that the actress and comedian Mae West was wrong when she allegedly said "Too much of a good thing ... can be wonderful!" Food contains calories, and eating too many calories-even of healthy foods-leads to weight gain. But there are healthy calories and unhealthy ("empty") calories, and fruit is a healthy source of calories. That's as true of dried fruit as fresh fruit.

An analysis of two observational studies involving 130,000 participants suggests that substituting plant protein for some animal protein may reduce the risk of early death by one-third in people with unhealthy lifestyles.

Although they may seem unfamiliar, these nutritious foods are as easy to cook and use as white rice.

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Refined carbohydrates are out; whole grains are in. That's one of the messages from the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It makes a lot of sense, given that diets rich in whole grains are linked with a reduced risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and certain cancers.

"All the grains we eat now started as whole grains, but we've stripped them down and lost some of the nutrition," says Stacey Nelson, manager of clinical nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.

The final recommendations do not specify limiting consumption of red and processed meats, which have been linked to cancer risk.

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The report of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, released in February 2015, suggested that the then-forthcoming update to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans adopt several changes from previous versions. It advised limiting added sugars to 10% of calories; removing the ceiling on dietary fats as long as saturated fat comprises no more than 10% of calories; and limiting consumption of red and processed meat.

When the final guidelines were released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) in January 2016, the caveat on red and processed meat was missing. Through that omission, the guidelines "censored conclusions of the scientific advisory committee," according to a statement on the website of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Frank Hu, Harvard professor of nutrition and epidemiology, was a member of the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, which spent two years reviewing reams of scientific evidence on diet and health and drafting the guidelines that were submitted to HHS and USDA. "Although there are some areas of improvement in this edition over previous ones, some simple but important recommendations are watered down, especially reducing consumption of red and processed meat," he says.

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Ask the doctor

Q Everything I read in Harvard Men's Health Watch about nutrition says to minimize the amount of red meat in my diet. Would it be best if I just gave it up completely? Or is there a safe amount to eat?

A Numerous studies have observed that consuming red meat is associated with diseases such as heart disease or colon cancer. In fact, the World Health Organization recently classified processed and red meats as cancer-causing substances. In most studies, it does appear that the lower your consumption of red meat, the better your health.

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With a focus on whole grains, berries, and fish, Northern European cuisine has some heart-friendly features.

If you've never heard of the Nordic diet, you might imagine a plate of those Swedish meatballs sold at Ikea. In fact, this eating style focuses on healthier fare, including an abundance of the plant-based foods nutritionists always encourage us to eat. And while the data are limited so far, some studies suggest that following a Nordic eating pattern may foster weight loss and lower blood pressure—both of which are good for the heart.

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Ask the doctor

Q. My doctor says the Mediterranean diet is not only good for my health in general, but that it is particularly good for my brain. That got my attention. Anything to it?

A. I think there is. The Mediterranean diet is rich in whole-grain bread, root vegetables, green vegetables, fish, poultry, fruit, and olive oil. It includes relatively little red meat, butter, and other foods rich in saturated fats and trans fats. As is often the case with research into a medical question, not all studies come to the same conclusion. But many studies have found that people who regularly adhere to the Mediterranean diet are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. And many studies also find that people with diets rich in saturated fats (including from red meat and processed meat) and trans fats are more likely to develop dementia of some type, along with other brain disease, particularly strokes.

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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.

Here's how to enhance the foods you already like with heart-healthy plant sources.

According to a recent national food survey by the CDC, 87% of American adults do not eat the minimum daily recommended portions of fruit (1.5 to 2 cups), and 91% are not getting the recommended amount of vegetables (2 to 3 cups a day). The reasons for this unhealthy trend vary. One important factor is that food preferences, including an aversion to fruits and vegetables, form early in life and can be hard to change. "People say, 'I don't like salad' and 'I don't like spinach,' and that's that," says Stacey Nelson, a registered dietitian and manager of clinical nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.