Bright, crunchy and brimming with vitamins and antioxidants, peppers make excellent on-the-go snacks and can even take center stage in entrées. In fact, versatility is among their greatest assets.
Looking to add global foods to your diet and not sure where to begin? Consider the avocado, a fruit rich in nutrients.
Protein is a macronutrient that’s essential to the body’s growth and maintenance and is found in nearly every part of the body: skin, bone, muscle, blood, tissue and hair. Protein is the body’s second-most abundant substance, after water. Doctors and nutritionists recommend consuming about 7…
It’s tempting to think of yogurt only as those single-serve, foil-topped containers, but it’s an incredibly adaptable food — and there are far healthier ways to eat it other than those often artificially sweetened, grab-and-go cups. “Yogurt can be enjoyed as a stand-alone snack, mixed into s…
It’s heartening that people have become increasingly aware of the many ways to reduce our carbon footprint — by recycling, using energy-efficient lighting and appliances, eating foods grown close to home — and why it’s critically important to do so. Eating locally grown produce isn’t just ki…
Some mornings it can feel like a herculean feat to find time to make and eat a healthy breakfast, but the meal is critical and can pay dividends for hours to come. “Breakfast ‘breaks the fast’ from the lack of eating overnight and gives us the opportunity to fuel our body with important nutr…
Piling your plate with cheerful citrus fruits will bring a load of color and a heap of nutrition to even the grayest winter day. Plus, if adopting healthier habits is on your to-do list for 2024, adding more citrus is one of the easiest, most affordable ways to accomplish your goal.
Oats and oatmeal have enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, as overnight oats and granola bowls turned trendy seemingly out of nowhere. But Yin Cao, ScD, MPH, associate professor of surgery at Washington University School of Medicine, points out that humans have been incorporating oats into …
Pumpkins and winter squash may already be used as decorations in your home, but fall is also the perfect season to move them onto your plate so you can savor their many health benefits as well. “Just one cup of pumpkin can give you 100% of your recommended daily intake of vitamin A, somethin…
Many people consider their daily coffee a guilty pleasure — something that isn’t particularly good for them but they derive a lot of joy from anyway. “It’s often seen as something to strictly limit, rather than celebrate,” says Hank Dart, a senior health communications lead in prevention and…
Although “snacking” has a negative connotation, it can be an important bridge between meals that also provides a quick, healthy burst of vitamins and nutrients. Naturally, some snack choices are better than others. Yikyung Park, ScD, a Washington University nutritional epidemiologist at Site…
A versatile crop that’s beneficial for humans and animals alike, soybeans manage to be everywhere yet fly under the radar. That’s particularly true in the United States, which produces nearly one-third of the world’s soybeans. Even so, they aren’t an everyday food for most Americans, but the…
Light meals are a natural choice for the summertime. Leafy greens can take a starring role as an entrée – think crisp, cool salads loaded with fruit and tangy dressing. Or they can take the place of buns or tortillas, which saves hundreds of calories and brings a slate of health benefits, th…
If there’s ever a season to eat more berries, it’s this one: The summer months see the fruits at their ripest, juiciest best. Berries’ vibrant colors are clues to the phytochemicals they hold — and the richer the color, the more they contain. “Phytochemicals are found in many fruits and vege…
Fish, especially fatty fish, has famously been called a “heart healthy food,” and the American Heart Association recommends eating 2 servings of fish per week. Fatty fish such as salmon, herring and sardine are high in omega-3 fatty acids that reduce risk of heart disease and stroke and also…
It’s true that nuts stuff a relatively hefty amount of fat and calories into small packages, but they also bring plenty of important nutrients, plus protein, fiber and — yes — good fats that are all part of a heart-healthy diet. “Nuts are antioxidant powerhouses containing mono- and polyunsa…
Hank Dart, a senior health communications lead at Siteman Cancer Center, knows that when people hear “whole grains,” they don’t typically think of pasta — but maybe they should. Shelves in the pasta aisle are now stocked with far more options than traditional noodles made from refined durum …
For thousands of years, pulses have been essential to cooking traditions from Asia to the Middle East to the Mediterranean — and you’re probably eating them too, even if you don’t realize it. If you’ve had hummus or black bean soup, you’ve had pulses: the dried seed that comes from the pod o…
Scooping products derived from kelp and algae, such as spirulina and dulse, into smoothies for an infusion of protein and energy is a relatively recent phenomenon in the West. But East Asian cultures have known about the benefits of seaweed for thousands of years. And Japan is home to some o…
Choosing the right kind of oil can be slippery. But a few tips can help.
The benefits of moderate drinking — namely, improved heart and circulatory health — have been touted for many years. But more recently, questions about this conventional wisdom have bubbled to the surface. Studies revealed compelling evidence that passing on booze altogether is the healthies…
The dairy section can be downright overwhelming, brimming with choices of milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, dips, desserts and more. But if you’re looking for a way to make healthier decisions at the grocery store, opting for low-fat and low-sugar dairy products is a fine place to start, says…
The United States is a country of voracious meat eaters. In 2020, the average American consumed an estimated 264 pounds of meat, far more than citizens of almost every other nation. So naturally the idea of pivoting toward a plant-based diet seems daunting, at least at first. But it doesn’t …
Berries just might be the perfect late-summer fruit. They ripen and sweeten as the season progresses, lending a burst of color and infusion of flavor to everything from yogurt at the breakfast table to drinks by the pool. Even more important, they are among the body’s greatest allies. “Berri…
Multifunctional devices are everywhere: Smartphones are also cameras, navigational tools and radios. Combination microwaves can be used as ovens, grills and roasters. Even ottomans double as sneaky storage spaces. Having a versatile device rather than several that serve just one function is …
We usually think of herbs and spices as a pair, but in fact they’re two distinct groups categorized according to which part of the plant they come from. “Seeds, roots, certain flowers and barks are consumable, and we refer to most of these as spices,” explains Yikyung Park, ScD, a Washington…
Although soy products such as tofu and tempeh can make healthy high-protein substitutes for red meat in just about any meal, it might take a little convincing to get some people on board.
Ginger has been valued worldwide as both a medicine and a spice for thousands of years.
The gut is having a moment. Food ads and labels constantly trumpet the presence of things like probiotics and live cultures, and how they contribute to flora and microbiomes and gut health. It’s easy to get lost in the details, so it helps to remember a few key points — starting with the fac…
When we think coffee, we think more: a faster heartbeat, a sharper mind, a pep in the step. But it turns out that coffee can also bring less of some things — like the risk of certain cancers, says Yin Cao, ScD, a Washington University researcher at Siteman Cancer Center.