Nutrition Archive

Smart choices for your midday meal may help set the stage for healthier eating throughout the day.

The classic American lunch — a deli sandwich, potato chips, and a soda — isn't exactly heart-friendly fare. Even salad bars can be tricky to navigate when you're trying to choose a nutritious but satisfying lunch. In fact, more than half of employed Americans who usually eat lunch on the job find it hard to eat a healthy lunch, according to a recent survey from the American Heart Association.

"Helping people understand what makes a healthy lunch may help them eat fewer calories and maybe even inspire them to make healthier food decisions the rest of the day," says Dr. Anne Thorndike, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. In a study of nearly 5,700 hospital employees, she and colleagues found that labeling cafeteria foods with simple "traffic light" symbols that reflected their relative health value was linked to healthier choices by employees. They ate fewer calories, mostly by eating fewer high-fat, high-calorie "red light" foods and more "green light" foods (in which the main ingredient was fruit, vegetable, whole grain, lean protein, or low-fat dairy). What's more, these dietary shifts lasted over a period of two years. For employees who visited the cafeteria most frequently, the estimated drop in calories could translate to a weight loss of up to 4.4 pounds over time, says Dr. Thorndike. The study was published July 10 in JAMA Network Open.

When you were a kid, you may have lumped peas into the same category as broccoli, spinach, or any other green plant on the plate. But green peas aren't the same as leafy greens. In fact, their classification is a little tricky.

Mature green peas — typically sold dried and split in half — are more like beans. But fresh or frozen green peas are classified as a starchy vegetable by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

In the journals

If you suffer from regular bloating after eating, you may want to check your sodium intake, suggests a study published in July 2019 in The American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Scientists analyzed data from the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension–Sodium trial (DASH-Sodium) from two decades ago. The original study compared the DASH diet — a high-fiber diet low in fat and high in fruits, nuts, and vegetables — against a low-fiber control diet. The study also looked at sodium intake as the participants consumed both high- and low-sodium versions of their diets. The study primarily focused on how dietary sodium affected blood pressure.

In the journals

Reducing your daily calorie intake by about 300 can improve the numbers for several health markers, according to a study published online July 11, 2019, by The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Researchers recruited 218 adults with a body mass index of 22 to 27.9, which is in the range of normal weight and slightly overweight. For a month, half the participants ate three meals a day that reflected about a 25% reduction in their normal daily calorie intake. They also engaged in six months of group and individual counseling sessions. People in the other group continued their usual diet.

Sodium doesn't affect everyone equally, but there's good reason to stick to moderate amounts in your diet.

On average, Americans eat too much salt — more than a teaspoon and a half a day. Most often it doesn't come out of a shaker, but is hidden in the foods you eat. But is it really bad for your heart to eat too much, or is that just a concern for people with certain risk factors? There's been some debate on this topic, even among members of the scientific community. We asked Nancy Cook, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, for her thoughts on salt — or more precisely, sodium, a mineral that makes up 40% of salt — and how it affects your health and your heart.

Is salt really bad for your heart?

"There is a fairly undisputed effect of sodium on blood pressure," says Cook. The effect is stronger in people with high blood pressure (hypertension), a sustained blood pressure reading of 120/80 or higher. The data for an effect on cardiovascular disease are somewhat more controversial, she says, but in general, the bulk of research does seem to link lower sodium intake with both lower blood pressure and a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

Whole grains contain fiber and nutrients that can help your health.

It's a low-carb world, and many people are pushing grains off their plate in an effort to control their waistline. But they may be doing their body a disservice. Whole grains have some unique properties that make them a valuable addition to the diet. Not only do they contain a host of nutrients, such as iron, B vitamins, copper, zinc, and magnesium, but studies have linked diets rich in whole grains to a lower risk of colon cancer, which is a growing health threat for many younger Americans.

"The main benefit of whole cereal grains, such as wheat, oats, and barley, is in the fiber," says Teresa Fung, adjunct professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "Cereal fiber is different from vegetable fiber or bean fiber."

Research we're watching

If the contents of your lunch bag are looking less than wholesome, you're not alone. A survey sponsored by the American Heart Association found that more than half of Americans who eat lunch at work reported that their midday meal often falls short when it comes to good nutrition. In addition, 91% of those surveyed said they would be interested in making healthier lunch choices. So, what's making people choose less healthful lunch options? Top reasons included the convenience of unhealthy foods (cited by 60% of respondents), taste (54%), and a lack of healthy food options (cited by 43%). If you're looking to improve your own lunch quality, the American Heart Association offers some tips on its website at www.heart.org/healthyforlife.

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Intestinal gas can be embarrassing, but is a normal part of digestion. Only rarely is excess gas cause for concern. Which foods you eat –– and how you digest them –– can make a difference.

Nuts and seeds are rich in fiber, which is important for gut health and keeping you regular. And, contrary to a common concern, no evidence links eating nuts and seeds to a painful gut infection called diverticulitis.

News briefs

We already know that a diet rich in red meat is linked to many health problems, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer. Now a Harvard-led study published online June 12, 2019, by BMJ suggests that boosting your red meat intake increases your risk for early death. Scientists analyzed questionnaire answers about health and diet provided by more than 81,000 healthy men and women between 1986 and 2010. In particular, researchers looked at whether changes in red meat consumption during an eight-year period of the study affected the risk of death eight years later. The findings: An increase of just half a serving of processed red meat per day was associated with a 13% higher risk for dying young from any cause; an additional half-serving of unprocessed red meat increased the risk by 9%. On the flip side, decreasing total red meat consumption and increasing the consumption of nuts, fish, poultry without skin, dairy, eggs, whole grains, or vegetables was tied to a lower risk of death. The takeaway: Try to curb your appetite for red and processed meats like bacon, salami, and hot dogs. Eat more poultry, fish, or plant-based proteins (like beans, lentils, nuts, and seeds), along with the other components of a healthy diet.

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