Monday, April 27

Tag: Diet and nutrition

New Study Suggests Fish Oil Supplements May Hinder Brain Recovery After Injury
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Nutrition & Meal Planning

New Study Suggests Fish Oil Supplements May Hinder Brain Recovery After Injury

A new study is challenging long-held assumptions about the benefits of fish oil supplements, suggesting they may actually impair brain recovery under certain conditions. Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina found that omega-3 supplements—widely promoted for supporting brain health, could interfere with healing following repeated mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI). Published in the journal Cell Reports, the study was led by neuroscientist Onder Albayram. His team investigated how the brain repairs blood vessels after injury and discovered a “context-dependent” vulnerability linked to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a key component of fish oil. In experimental models, higher levels of EPA were associated with weaker recovery, particularly affecting the brain’s ability...
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The Simple Trick a Dietitian Uses to Hit Her Protein Goals on Busy Weeknights
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Nutrition & Meal Planning

The Simple Trick a Dietitian Uses to Hit Her Protein Goals on Busy Weeknights

Meal planning often sounds like a good idea in theory, but quickly becomes overwhelming in practice. However, registered dietitian Natalie Rizzo has a straightforward strategy that makes hitting daily protein goals easier — even on the most hectic weeknights. Rizzo, a TODAY nutrition editor, sits down every Sunday to plan just six dinners for her family (they allow themselves one takeout night). Her key rule? Rotate the protein source every single night so meals stay exciting and nutritious. “What I try to do is make a different protein every night,” Rizzo explains. “Because I get bored eating the same thing every night.” How the Protein Rotation Strategy Works Instead of defaulting to chicken or beef repeatedly, Rizzo centers each dinner around a different plant-based pr...
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How Long Should You Exercise for Effective Weight Loss? Trainers Reveal the Ideal 30-45 Minute ‘Sweet Spot’
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Weight Loss & Fat Burning

How Long Should You Exercise for Effective Weight Loss? Trainers Reveal the Ideal 30-45 Minute ‘Sweet Spot’

If you’re aiming to lose weight through exercise, spending hours at the gym may not only be unnecessary but could actually work against your goals, according to leading fitness experts. Personal trainer Stephanie Mansour, a TODAY contributor and one of the trainers featured on the Start TODAY app, recommends keeping effective workouts in the 30 to 45-minute range. She describes this duration as the “sweet spot” for achieving meaningful fat loss, burning calories, building muscle, and maintaining long-term consistency without over-stressing the body. Mansour explains that sessions shorter than 30 minutes often fail to provide enough stimulus for significant metabolic or fat-burning benefits, while workouts exceeding 45 minutes can lead to excessive fatigue, muscle soreness, increa...
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Discover Why Bread and Carbs Can Cause Weight Gain Even Without Extra Calories
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Nutrition & Meal Planning

Discover Why Bread and Carbs Can Cause Weight Gain Even Without Extra Calories

A new study from Osaka Metropolitan University has challenged conventional thinking about carbohydrates, revealing that staple foods like bread, rice, and wheat may promote weight gain and increased body fat not by encouraging overeating, but by significantly slowing down the body’s energy expenditure. In carefully controlled experiments, researchers observed that mice strongly preferred carbohydrate-rich foods over their standard chow, eventually abandoning the regular diet altogether. Even when total calorie intake did not increase substantially, the mice consuming bread, wheat flour, or rice flour experienced notable gains in body weight and fat mass. The effect was consistent across both normal and high-fat diet groups, suggesting the weight gain was driven by metabolic shifts r...
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Morning Coffee Linked to Lower Risk of Death from Heart Disease and All Causes, New Study Finds
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Personal Stories & Opinion

Morning Coffee Linked to Lower Risk of Death from Heart Disease and All Causes, New Study Finds

A new study published in the European Heart Journal suggests that the timing of coffee consumption matters: people who drink their coffee primarily in the morning have a significantly lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and all causes compared to those who drink it throughout the day or not at all. Led by Lu Qi, MD, PhD, at Tulane University, the research analyzed data from over 40,000 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and 1,463 participants in the Women’s and Men’s Lifestyle Validation Study. Participants were categorized into non-coffee drinkers, “morning-type” drinkers (almost all coffee before noon), and “all-day-type” drinkers (coffee spread throughout the day). Over nearly a decade of follow-up, morning coffee drinkers showe...
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