Nutrition Archive

The healthiest fats for cooking and using on food come from plants. Plant oils consist mostly of unsaturated fat, which in limited amounts is good for the heart. One can enjoy a wide variety of plant oils, such as avocado, canola, corn, flaxseed, grapeseed, olive, peanut, rice bran, safflower, soybean, sunflower, and walnut oils. But high heat can break down plant oil molecules and reduce health benefits. The most fragile plant oils include extra-virgin olive oil and nut oils, such as walnut oil.

Noticeable bruises as a person ages are related to the tiny blood vessels in the outer layer of skin becoming more fragile. There is not much people can do about this, but they should see their doctors if bruises resemble red or purple spots, appear only on the lower legs, or become painful.

People who ate healthy plant-based foods had a 10% reduction in stroke risk, compared with people who ate unhealthy plant-based foods, according to a Harvard study published online March 10, 2021, by the journal Neurology.

In the journals

Bleeding gums are a sign of gingivitis, an early stage of periodontal disease, but they may also signal low vitamin C in your diet, suggests a study published online Feb. 1, 2021, by Nutrition Reviews. Researchers examined 15 published studies involving 1,140 healthy people as well as data on 8,210 people from the CDC's Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They found that low vitamin C levels in the bloodstream were associated with an increased risk for gum bleeding with gentle probing. The researchers also observed that increasing vitamin C intake may help resolve the problem.

Increased bleeding in general is one of the symptoms of scurvy, a disease caused by severe vitamin C deficiency. Scurvy, which often affected 18th-century sailors without access to fruits and vegetables, is rare today. Still, this new study sheds light on a potential cause of gum bleeding related to vitamin C levels that are only slightly low — not enough to cause scurvy.

The Chinese gooseberry — more commonly known as kiwifruit or simply kiwi — is a brown, fuzzy, egg-sized fruit with bright green flesh. You can sometimes find gold kiwis, which have yellow flesh, or kiwi berries, which are the size of a grape and have smooth, green skin. Sweet yet slightly tart, kiwi's flavor has been described as a cross between a strawberry and a banana with a hint of citrus.

One kiwi provides nearly all (about 80%) of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement. It's also a good source of fiber, potassium, and vitamin K.