/oss/taxonomy/term/1976/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/food-thought-literally <p>What exactly should we eat? You would think that after literally thousands and thousands of studies that have been published on every aspect of nutrition, we would have an answer to that question. Actually, we do. Maybe not “exactly,” given that there is such a diversity of nutritional studies, some of which can be classified as good, some as bad, and most as mediocre. Nevertheless, with a bit of scientific sleuthing the chaff can be separated from the wheat.</p> Wed, 02 Mar 2022 22:39:30 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 9041 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-food-health-history/pizza-pie-sky <p>Imagine being admitted to a hospital with a heart attack and a doctor asking how many times a week you eat pizza. This was the actual question that was asked of 507 heart attack victims and 478 others who had been admitted to a hospital in Milan, Italy, between 1995 and 1999. Why? To find out if most Italian foods had any role to play in heart disease. We’ve all heard about the benefits of the highly touted Mediterranean diet, and Italian researchers decided to find out if pizza specifically played a role in protection against cardiovascular disease.</p> Sun, 23 Feb 2014 02:42:52 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2101 at /oss /oss/article/aging-diets-food-health-news/want-keep-alzheimers-disease-bay-who-wouldnt-so-lets-surf-web-keep-mind-almost-every-study <p>Sticking to the Mediterranean diet – low in meat and dairy products, high in fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals and fish – would seem to be a good start. A study of close to 500 seniors with mild cognitive impairment showed a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s with adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Eating fish is an important feature, with studies showing that people with higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids tend to have larger brain volumes in old age. It seems fish oil protects the brain’s hippocampus region, the area where shrinkage is associated with dementia.</p> Tue, 24 Mar 2015 11:10:47 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2246 at /oss