Health

Many people cross bread, pasta and potatoes off their menus, hoping to drop pounds and improve their heart health. But there’s a controversy behind this multibillion-dollar wellness phenomenon: Research is divided on carbohydrate-restricted diets.

Ultraprocessed grain intake is associated with an increased risk for developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Chile’s complementary set of policies targeting food products high in fat, salt and sugar plausibly reduces the risk of school-age children being overweight or having obesity, finds a study published in The Lancet.

The presence of minerals in oilseeds, such as Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa) and cashews (Anacardium occidentale), does not guarantee that the body will use them. A study conducted at the Diadema campus of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) in Brazil and published in the journal Química Nova evaluated the bioavailability of these nutrients. Bioavailability is defined as the fraction of the mineral actually released during simulated gastrointestinal digestion and potentially available for absorption.

A year after changes to federal leadership in the U.S. public health system, a new poll finds that trust in public health agencies has dropped dramatically. Only 50% of U.S. adults say they trust health recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), compared to 77% in spring 2025. The fraction who say they trust their state health department has declined from 80% to 66%, and the fraction who say they trust their local public health department has fallen from 82% to 70%.

If you regularly drink soda or other sugary beverages, a new study may give you a reason to cut back.

People who follow a short-term low-calorie diet may have reduced markers of inflammation associated with gum disease. A study by King’s College London, published in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, highlights how lifestyle modifications could be important alongside plaque control in managing gum disease.

An unexpected lab observation has led a team of scientists to discover how diet can influence survival in animal models of glioma, one of the most aggressive and deadly forms of brain cancer. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital and collaborating institutions report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences how limiting a single nutrient, the amino acid methionine, in the diet destabilized DNA organization and led to cancer cell death and increased animal survival. These findings open new possibilities for treating one of the most challenging forms of brain cancer.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed some households in India into difficult and often unsustainable coping strategies, forcing tradeoffs between immediate survival and long-term stability, according to new research by Lancaster University and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK).

The high cost of fresh fruits and vegetables and the need to restock them frequently can be barriers to healthy eating for low-income families. New research shows that online grocery shopping, combined with incentive programs, can help.