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Fast-food restaurants are loading their menus with nutritious-sounding options in a bid to draw more-health-conscious consumers. But how healthy are these options?
The Jamba Light Smoothies site ("say sayonara, calories") and Jamba's "nutritional information" webpage contain no Splenda logo or complete ingredient list. Only by rolling a cursor over the names of the individual smoothies can discerning customers discover that "light" means artificial sweetener. "The website is certainly not making much of a mention of [the Splenda content]," says [Gerry] Chiaro [a marketing lecturer at Northwestern University].MORE
The jury is still out on whether Splenda poses a health risk, but [Harvard Medical School associate professor Alison] Field says she "doesn't see any reason" to consume artificial sweeteners because "people can change their diets in many ways to eat fewer calories." Moreover, recent studies suggest that people who consume artificial sweeteners, particularly in diet sodas, actually end up gaining more weight. "They think they've bought themselves some breathing room by drinking a diet soda instead of a regular soda, but then they eat more," Field says.
Most Americans already eat more protein than their bodies need. And eating too much protein can increase health risks. High-protein animal foods are usually also high in saturated fat. Eating large amounts of high-fat foods for a sustained period raises the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and several types of cancer. People who can't use excess protein effectively may be at higher risk of kidney and liver disorders, and osteoporosis.MORE
Maintaining good health during pregnancy is one of the surest ways mothers can protect their developing babies’ well-being. A new study suggests that adequate levels of vitamin D could be one such protective factor.
Since November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has received 900 complaints of pet illnesses and deaths from owners and vets stemming from China-made chicken jerky dog treats. See the full story on our companion blog NewsFeed.
