Food and Nutrition

On Tuesday, the FDA announced that it will require the food industry to eliminate the use of artificial trans fats by 2018. Does that mean trans fats will soon disappear completely? Not quite. Here are five things to watch for as the FDA’s new ruling rolls out.

Chronic Disease, Food and Nutrition

Requiring certain ingredients to be listed on food labels can often drive larger changes in what we consume. The U.S. required trans fats to appear on food labels in 2006, but countries such as Brazil and Argentina have gone much further in setting limits on the unhealthy fats.

Chronic Disease, Food and Nutrition

Why have policies limiting the prevalence of trans fats been so slow to arrive? A brief history explains how policy actions aimed at curbing such fats, now known for their role in chronic diseases, ultimately gained traction in tip-of-the-spear countries such as Denmark.

Chronic Disease, Food and Nutrition

Children consume a bigger proportion of their daily calories from added sugars than adults, and the concerns go beyond nutrition. New research suggests that fructose can activate the brain's reward regions and generate hunger and cravings for other high-calorie foods.

Chronic Disease, Food and Nutrition

Valentine's Day is over, but questions over lead and other heavy metals in chocolate and candy are still around. And while "cocoa puff stories" are the norm around this time of year, some excellent reporting is keeping the spotlight on this bittersweet issue.

Food and Nutrition

Akron, Ohio's Accountable Care Community has brought together a coalition of partners to reduce the number of residents suffering from chronic disease and treatment costs. Similarly, nonprofit hospitals elsewhere can do much more to improve the health of entire communities.

Chronic Disease, Food and Nutrition