Nutrition Archive

How to gain weight safely when you're down a few pounds.

You've spent your whole life trying to keep extra pounds off. Now your doctor says you actually need to gain a few pounds to stay healthy. But healthy weight gain isn't so simple. "Some people find it difficult to add enough calories to their usual diet. It takes a lot of effort," says registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Where to begin

A dietitian can help you come up with an eating plan based on your specific calorie needs. It starts with understanding how quickly you've lost weight and why (see "Why are you underweight?"). Your age, size, activity, amount of weight lost, and overall health will be key to designing a diet that's right for you.

News briefs

Ever hear the saying that drinking beer before wine can reduce hangover symptoms? It's just a myth, according to a small randomized study published Feb. 1, 2019, in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers found out by dividing 90 men and women (ages 19 to 40) into four groups. One group drank beer first, and then wine; another group drank wine first, and then beer; and the last two groups drank only beer or only wine. All of the participants drank until they were intoxicated (measured by a breath test), and then rated their hangover symptoms (like headache and nausea) on the day after drinking. The process was repeated a week later, but this time the beer-first group drank wine first; the wine-first group drank beer first; the wine-only group drank only beer; and the beer-only group drank only wine. The results: everyone experienced hangovers, no matter what they drank or the order in which they drank it. The strongest predictors for hangover intensity were perceived drunkenness and vomiting. The bottom line: Drinking too much is unhealthy for anyone. If you drink at all, drink in moderation. That means no more than one drink per day for women, no more than two drinks per day for men.

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Make sure you're getting enough of this healthy carbohydrate in your diet.

When we think about following a healthy diet, we often fixate on what we shouldn't be eating, such as sugary desserts and fatty fried foods. A better strategy may be to focus on what we should be eating — especially more foods naturally rich in fiber.

Even though fiber passes through our bodies without being digested, it provides many health benefits, particularly for the heart. Fiber-rich diets may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke by as much as 30%, according to a review article in the February 2 issue of The Lancet.

Lentils are tiny, lens-shaped legumes that come in array of colors, including yellow, red, green, brown, and black. Compared with other legumes, lentils are particularly rich in compounds known as polyphenols. These plant-based micronutrients are thought to help protect against cardiovascular disease.

Another advantage to lentils is that you don't need to soak them in advance, as is necessary with beans. And they cook quickly — usually in about 20 minutes or less. In fact, red lentils (which are actually orange) cook in just five minutes. Add one cup of lentils to three cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Once the water boils, the lentils are ready; you can then drain, rinse in cool water, and use them in salads. If you cook red lentils longer, they turn yellow and become very soft, with a smooth, pureed texture.

Research we're watching

A near-daily serving of nuts may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in people with type 2 diabetes, new research suggests. The study, published online February 19 by Circulation Research, relied on diet surveys from more than 16,000 people before and after they were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a condition that elevates the risk of heart disease. Researchers asked them about their nut-eating habits over a period of several years. People who ate five servings of nuts per week had a 17% lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with those who ate less than a serving per week.

Chock full of unsaturated fat, fiber, and minerals, nuts can help control blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol. Tree nuts, which include walnuts, almonds, and pistachios, seemed to offer the strongest benefits in the study. Peanuts, which aren't technically nuts but legumes, weren't quite as healthy. While this study can't prove cause and effect, eating a small handful of unsalted nuts on most days will likely help your heart, even if you don't have diabetes.

In the journals

Need another reason to monitor your intake of ultra-processed foods? Cutting down on your amounts could help you live longer.

In an observational study published online Feb. 11, 2019, by JAMA Internal Medicine, almost 45,000 adults ages 45 and older completed several dietary assessments over a two-year period. On average, ultra-processed foods made up about 15% of their daily diet as measured in grams.

Healthier options, such as baking, can offer similar taste without the health drawbacks.

Fried foods are crunchy, crispy, and tasty, but as tempting as they are, eating them too often might shave years off your life.

A study published online January 23 by The BMJ found that women who ate one or more servings of fried chicken daily were 13% more likely to die prematurely from any cause and 12% more likely to die from heart-related causes than women who didn't eat any fried food.

Phytonutrients in fruits and vegetables can protect us from chronic diseases if we eat enough of them. Because different produce contains different phytonutrients, consuming as much of a variety as possible is the best way to benefit from this protection.

Eat breakfast? Skip breakfast? Newer research fails to link eating breakfast with eating less or weight loss. So, will skipping breakfast shave off weight?

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've heard that club soda, seltzer water, and sparkling mineral waters rob the bones of calcium. Is this true?