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Parents know fruit and vegetables are healthy, but many underestimate how much children need

A qualitative study involving 15 Swedish parents found that although most recognized the health benefits of fruit and vegetables, many underestimated recommended daily intake and considered serving vegetables at dinner sufficient. Researchers identified four overlapping parental roles influencing children's eating habits and suggested that clearer guidance on quantities, serving frequency, and practical feeding approaches could help families improve consumption.

15 Oct 2026

Losing weight is one thing. Keeping your muscle is another, experts say

The International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) position stand concludes that sustained calorie restriction drives weight loss, while adequate protein intake and resistance training help preserve lean mass. Reviewing intermittent fasting, ketogenic diets, and other dietary approaches, the authors emphasize individualized nutrition plans, body composition, and sustainable weight management rather than rapid weight loss alone.

14 Oct 2026

Switching to a vegan diet rapidly alters liver metabolism

A team from UNIGE has shown that switching from a vegetarian to a vegan diet is enough to modify the liver’s metabolism within a few days.

13 Oct 2026

Think raw milk is better for you? Pediatricians have a warning

Pediatricians urge against raw milk, highlighting its link to foodborne illnesses and advocating for pasteurized alternatives to safeguard children's health.

12 Oct 2026

New research reveals the remarkable complexity of human milk

Two major international studies are providing new insight into how human milk is regulated, showing that some components respond to maternal nutrition, while others remain stable or reflect biological processes involved in lactation and infant growth.

10 Oct 2026

Study finds age and body composition may explain gut bacteria differences between milk drinkers

A study of 265 adults suggests that gut bacteria differences between cow's milk and plant-based drink consumers may reflect individual characteristics rather than milk choice.

8 Oct 2026

Ancient gut microbes migrated with humans across the globe

As waves of humans left Africa tens of thousands of years ago, eventually populating the entire planet, they were joined on their world-conquering ride by the trillions of microorganisms that compose the gut microbiome.

7 Oct 2026

New fluorescent paper strips make vitamin B12 testing simpler

Measuring vitamin B12 in food usually means bringing the sample to the laboratory. A new fluorescent sensor could help move part of that process onto something much simpler: a paper strip or cotton swab.

1 Oct 2026

Overall dietary patterns matter more for heart health than nutrients

A healthy, balanced dietary pattern, rather than one focused on individual nutrients or foods is key to maintaining heart health, according to a Scientific Statement issued by the American College of Cardiology and published in JACC, its flagship journal.

30 Sep 2026

From wild rice to tarwi, researchers are exploring the health potential of Indigenous foods

A conference paper reviewed North American and Andean Indigenous foods, including Three Sisters crops, wild rice, native berries, tarwi, quinoa, and amaranth, and described their nutrients and bioactive compounds. Evidence for health effects remains limited for many of these foods, and the authors call for research developed with Indigenous communities that also supports traditional knowledge and food sovereignty.

28 Sep 2026

Could the Mediterranean diet protect the brain through the gut?

A narrative review finds that the Mediterranean diet may support brain health through gut microbiome, immune, metabolic, and barrier-related pathways, but direct human evidence that microbiome remodeling mediates neuroprotection remains limited. The proposed mechanisms involve microbial metabolites, reduced inflammatory signaling, stronger intestinal and blood-brain barrier function, and possible effects on processes linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

27 Sep 2026

Many sight loss patients encounter unproven or bogus eye treatments

An international study of almost 1,000 people living with sight loss, led by University College London (UCL) researchers, found that nearly one in five reported receiving or encountering eye treatments they believed to be 'bogus'.

24 Sep 2026

First foods bring an early functional shift in the infant gut microbiome

Researchers analyzing paired gut microbiome samples from 125 Irish infants found that complementary feeding was associated with early changes in microbial composition and metabolic potential, including an increased capacity for complex carbohydrate metabolism. Breastfeeding duration was more closely associated with microbial community development than the timing of solid-food introduction, while formula-fed infants showed more extensive functional pathway changes after solids were introduced.

24 Sep 2026

A child's gut microbiome may offer early clues to type 1 diabetes risk

Researchers tracking 887 children at high genetic risk of type 1 diabetes identified three distinct patterns of gut microbiome maturation during early childhood. One pattern was associated with substantially higher risk of islet autoantibody seroconversion or type 1 diabetes, while host genetic background altered the risk associated with another pattern.

23 Sep 2026

Higher ultra-processed food intake linked to multiple health risks

A higher ultra processed food (UPF) intake is linked to a heightened risk of several major chronic health issues, such as digestive diseases, high blood pressure, and metabolic syndrome/diabetes, as well as death, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the open access journal Family Medicine and Community Health.

22 Sep 2026

Fermented dairy was linked to lower mortality, but the pattern shifted at higher intakes

Analysis of 37,366 US adults found that fermented dairy consumption was associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, with consumers showing adjusted hazards 18% and 20% lower, respectively, than non-consumers. Dose-response analyses indicated that the inverse association was concentrated at intakes below about 150 grams per day, while the observational study could not establish causality.

16 Sep 2026

Cockroaches have a reputation for surviving almost anything, but this diet proved deadly

A laboratory study tested how ultra-processed, unprocessed, and mixed diets affected survival in 127 lobster cockroaches, Nauphoeta cinerea. Cockroaches fed only ultra-processed foods had higher mortality than those given unprocessed or mixed diets, although the study could not determine whether processing, ingredients, nutrition, or differences in food intake caused the effect.

13 Sep 2026

Review highlights solute carriers as targets for central nervous system disorders

Solute carriers (SLCs) are specialized transport proteins that control the movement of nutrients, ions and neurotransmitters across cell membranes and are essential for brain metabolism and neuronal communication.

10 Sep 2026

A common drink pattern was linked to less sleep and more fatigue in soldiers

A cross-sectional study of 1,155 active-duty Spanish Army personnel identified three distinct co-consumption profiles based on the frequency of caffeinated beverage, energy drink, and sugar-sweetened beverage use. Compared with the lower-frequency profile, the higher-frequency profile was associated with about 14 minutes less sleep per night, lower sleep efficiency, and greater habitual physical fatigue, although the study cannot establish causality or quantify caffeine or sugar exposure.

8 Sep 2026

What mothers eat in pregnancy may shape a child’s weight years later

A prospective study of 252 mother-child pairs found that higher combined maternal fruit and vegetable intake during pregnancy was associated with lower odds of overweight or obesity in children at age four. Total and natural fruit juice showed no association, whereas higher commercial fruit juice intake was associated with increased odds, though the authors emphasized that this finding was exploratory.

7 Sep 2026