Nutrition Archive

Sunflower seeds, which are harvested from the centers of large, yellow-petaled flowers, have a long and interesting history. Native American Indians cultivated sunflowers some 8,000 years ago, using the seeds to make meal for bread.

Today, farmers grow two main types of sunflowers. Those with solid black hulls have extra-oily seeds, which are pressed into sunflower oil or used in bird feeders. Those with black-and-white-striped hulls are used in food. In the late 1960s, chewing a mouthful to extract the small seeds became popular among baseball players, allegedly as a substitute for chewing tobacco. In the 1970s, hulled sunflower seeds gained a following among vegetarians and natural-food enthusiasts.

A study published Feb. 17, 2020, in the journal Gut suggests that lower rates of chronic disease among people who eat a Mediterranean diet might be due to changes in the gut microbiome.

Postprandial hypotension, low blood pressure that occurs after eating, can cause dizziness, chest pain, nausea, or other issues, particularly in the elderly.

Trans fats and saturated fats can raise LDL cholesterol levels. A diet rich in unsaturated fats, whole grains, and fruits and vegetables can lower them.

The growing field of health and wellness coaching uses motivational techniques and positive psychology to offer people individualized support as they work to achieve their health goals.

How much dairy should you consume each day? And are some dairy products or milk alternatives better for heart health than others?

These days, the supermarket dairy aisle can be tricky to navigate. Along with the nonfat, 2%, and full-fat cow's milk lining the refrigerated shelves, you'll often find a dizzying array of plant-based milk alternatives made from different nuts, beans, and grains. Even the yogurt and cheese sections now feature nondairy products, such as coconut yogurt and cashew cheese.

The expanded choices reflect the growing trend toward plant-based diets, which people embrace for a range of reasons. Some people minimize or avoid meat, dairy, and other animal-based foods because of religious reasons or concerns about environmental sustainability or animal welfare. People who are focused mainly on a heart-healthy diet know to steer clear of red and processed meat. But when it comes to dairy products, the story isn't quite as straightforward.

News briefs

You've heard (in these pages, and others) that a healthy lifestyle can stave off chronic disease. But just how many extra disease-free years might you get from that healthy lifestyle? A lot, suggests an observational Harvard-led study published online Jan. 8, 2020, by The BMJ. Researchers evaluated more than 30 years' worth of health data from 111,000 people who were free of cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease at age 50. Compared with those who didn't follow any healthy lifestyle habits, those who followed four or five healthy habits had an additional decade of disease-free living. The elements of a healthy lifestyle will come as no surprise: don't smoke, limit alcohol intake, eat a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, and exercise at least 30 minutes per day. The surprise is just how many additional disease-free years a healthy lifestyle can give you.

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Here's how to maintain your current active lifestyle.

Older adults want to enjoy their independent living as long as possible. Yet this can become a challenge as people face more health issues.

"Most life changes that cause older adults to lose some or all of their independence occur either gradually or suddenly," says Dr. Jennifer Rhodes-Kropf, a primary care geriatrician at Harvard-affiliated Hebrew SeniorLife's Center Communities of Brookline, Mass. "You need to stay on top of critical areas that can jeopardize your health and lifestyle."

Research we're watching

Sticking to certain healthy lifestyle habits at midlife could add disease-free years to your life, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Study authors found that 50-year-old women who maintained five healthy habits — exercising at least 30 minutes a day, following a healthy diet, maintaining a body mass index in the normal range, having no more than one serving of alcohol a day, and not smoking — lived on average 10.7 more years free of diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, compared with initially healthy women who practiced none of those habits at age 50. Their findings, published online January 8 by BMJ, were based on 34 years of data from the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, which involved more than 73,000 women and some 38,000 men.

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