News — Nutrition

Emerging evidence shows that our gut bacteria, too, require certain nutrients—and that these are essential for their growth, health, and metabolism. Our gut bacteria must necessarily obtain these nutrients from the food that we eat, and as is the case with the rest of our bodies, the state of our gut microbiome is impacted when we consume either too little or extreme excess of these nutrients. See also What Is the Gut Microbiome? And Why Should We Care About It? Yes, we can add yet another reason to eat organ meat and shellfish to the list: A nutrient-dense diet supports...

Yet despite decades of research, the relationship between added sugar and human health is still a controversial topic. Around the globe, public health guidelines—including the World Health Organization, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations, and Public Health England—recommend limiting added (or “free”) sugar intake to 10% of total calories or less, due to well-established effects on dental health, total caloric intake, obesity, inflammation, and related conditions. At the same time, some people question whether this upper limit is scientifically sound, leading to public confusion about how important it really is to avoid sugar. Part of the confusion...

It started with a New York Times article titled “The Hippies Have Won.” The title served as vegan catnip for me, and I eagerly read the story that discussed the move of formerly “counterculture” plant-based living into the mainstream (which is amazing news, and the article is a fantastic and informative read). While celebrating the topics covered in the piece, my interest was piqued at the mention of the growing trend of making and consuming fermented foods because, due to new findings on the microbiome, “people are recognizing that this important biodiversity inside of us has been diminished and are...