Category: Nutrition in the News

My take on the latest diet and nutrition headlines.

Is “Big Coffee” buying off nutritionists?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

coffee beans and brewedI’m sure you saw the headlines this week about coffee: Colon cancer survivors who drink 4 or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day have a reduced risk of their cancer coming back. By the way, 4 or more “cups” might not be quite as immoderate as it sounds: They are referring to teeny little 6-ounce cups, so we’re talking about one and half grandes here.

In any case, this is just the latest in a long list of studies, which link regular coffee and/or caffeine consumption to various health benefits.  I talked about many of these perks (haha! get it?) in an episode of the Nutrition Diva podcast: Is caffeine bad for you?

Perhaps one of the recent news stories linked to that 2013 article, because the day the study was released, a couple of new comments appeared there. Both of the writers seem to feel that coffee/caffeine is bad for you.  And both accused me of promoting coffee because someone is paying me to.

As if that were the only possible explanation for having a different opinion. Continue reading “Is “Big Coffee” buying off nutritionists?” >

Diet soda vs regular soda? There’s a third option

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Jill sent me a link to this New York Times article asking for my take.

strawman

The author’s friends are engaged in what he feels to be a nonsensical debate over whether artificial sweeteners are better or worse for you than sugar. “There appears to be a correlation between sugar consumption and health problems,” he states. “None can be detected with artificial sweeteners.” Continue reading “Diet soda vs regular soda? There’s a third option” >

Vitamin C and Death: More Face-Palm Science News

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

I sometimes play a game on the Nutrition Diva Facebook page called “Spot the fallacy.” I post a link to a nutrition-related  story and followers chime in, pointing out all the ways in which the science had been distorted or misreported.  It’s always lots of fun.

Here are a couple of recent rounds of Spot the Fallacy:

Usually, the problem is not with the research but with the way it’s being reported. But here’s a new category of face-palm science. Researchers take an interesting finding and then “drill down” to come up with a far less meaningful conclusion. Wanna play? Continue reading “Vitamin C and Death: More Face-Palm Science News” >

Why cake may be better than bread

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

chicken-veggiesHere’s a small study that may change the way we think about carbs. Researchers found that the order in which we consume foods may have a substantial impact on our blood sugar response to those foods.

In the study, subjects were given the same meal–consisting of chicken, vegetables, salad, bread, and orange juice–on two different occasions. The first time, they ate the high carbohydrate foods (the bread and orange juice) first, followed by the chicken and veggies.  The second time, they reversed the order and ate the chicken and veggies first, followed by bread and orange juice.

In a traditional nutritional analysis, these two meals would be considered identical. But it appears that even small differences in timing make a big difference. Continue reading “Why cake may be better than bread” >

Eggs are back on the menu for diabetics

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Eggs for breakfast helps you eat lessThe government finally relaxed its stance on cholesterol in this year’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, but, as you know, I have been defending eggs as delicious, nutritious, and unfairly maligned for years.

See also: Are Eggs Really as Bad as Smoking?

I’ve reassured people that it’s fine to eat eggs everyday–assuming you are otherwise healthy. But with nutrition, one size never fits all.  Thus my “assuming you are otherwise healthy” caveat. Continue reading “Eggs are back on the menu for diabetics” >

Let’s not make THAT mistake again

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

I was browsing through the nutrition newswire this morning when two items caught my eye–primarly due to their juxtaposition.

The first was in reference to a study done by Brian Wansinck at Cornell University, which found that–surprise, surprise–positive messaging about nutrition (“Eat more vegetables) are more effective at getting people to make positive behavior change than negative instructions (“Eat less candy”).

That was the basic but powerful idea that I explored a while back in this Nutrition Diva episode: Shift Your Focus to Make Dieting Easier.

In and of itself, it wouldn’t have been worth mentioning to you. But the NEXT item in the feed was an article by Ellie Krieger in the Washington Post, Eating Less Meat? Be Careful What you Replace it With. Continue reading “Let’s not make THAT mistake again” >

Great news for cheese lovers

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

sweet dreams“Cheese: milk’s leap toward immortality,” swooned one aficionado, and many foodies agree. And yet it’s rich in saturated fat, which is why the Dietary Guidelines tell us to limit our consumption.

Even if you’re not that worried about saturated fat*, a new study suggests that you’re better off eating your butterfat as cheese than otherwise. Compared with an equivalent amount of butter, cheese consumption has more favorable effects on blood cholesterol levels.

Why would this be? Shouldn’t the same amount of saturated fat have the same effect on blood chemistry? Not necessarily. Continue reading “Great news for cheese lovers” >

Fructose leaves you hungrier than glucose: Why this doesn’t matter

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Glasses of various juicesA new study found that people who consumed a beverage sweetened with glucose were less hungry afterwards than people who drank a beverage sweetened with fructose.  This makes a lot of sense. Some of the hormones that regulate your desire for food are cued by rising blood sugar and insulin levels. Because fructose causes a much lower rise in both, it doesn’t send as strong a signal to your brain that you’ve eaten. Continue reading “Fructose leaves you hungrier than glucose: Why this doesn’t matter” >