Nutrition

Healthy Eating: Step by Step Guide
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Most Americans consume too many calories and not enough nutrients, according to the latest revision to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Currently, the typical American diet is low in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and high in saturated fat

Dietary Supplements Regulations
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Under DSHEA, dietary supplements do not need approval from the FDA before they are marketed. However, in the case of some new dietary supplements, such as dietary ingredients that were not marketed in the United States before Oct. 15, 1994, a premarket

Use Pasteurized Milk
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Pasteurization, since its adoption in the early 1900s, has been credited with dramatically reducing illness and death caused by contaminated milk. But today, some people are passing up pasteurized milk for what they claim is tastier and healthier

Dietary Supplements Safety
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The dietary supplement industry has changed a lot in the last decade. When DSHEA was passed, there were about 4,000 dietary supplements on the market. Now there are about 29,000 on the market, with another 1,000 new products introduced each year

Acrylamide Levels in Food
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The Food and Drug Administration has released data on acrylamide levels in more than 750 new food samples. These data expand the agency's ability to assess the extent to which this chemical is present in the food supply and its public health impact.

Guidelines on Mercury in Fish
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
One minute you hear that eating fish is good for your heart. The next, you find out that eating certain types of fish can be harmful. Actually, there are benefits and risks to eating fish. Fish and shellfish are an important part of a healthy diet.

GRAS: Food Additives
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
A GRAS substance is one that has a long, safe history of common use in foods, or that is determined to be safe based on proven science. If, however, new evidence suggests that a GRAS substance may no longer be safe, the FDA can prohibit its use

Ephedra Ban: Evidence of Harm
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Dietary supplements that contain ephedrine alkaloids present unreasonable risks of illness or injury. Ephedra is a naturally occurring substance found in plants. Its principal active ingredient is ephedrine, an amphetamine-like compound that potentially

Safety of Genetically Engineered Foods
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Genetically engineered plants are regulated by three government agencies: the FDA, the USDA, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The FDA ensures that foods made from these plants are safe for humans and animals to eat, the USDA makes sure

Genetic Engineering: The Future of Foods?
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Genetically engineered foods are produced from crops whose genetic makeup has been altered through a process called recombinant DNA, or gene splicing, to give the plant a desirable trait. Genetically engineered foods are also known as biotech, bioengineer

Revealing Trans Fats
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
A new FDA rule requires that trans fats, which act like artery-clogging saturated fats, be included on food labels beginning in 2006. Basically, trans fat is made when manufacturers add hydrogen to vegetable oil--a process called hydrogenation.

Bottled Water: Better?
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Water, of course, is essential to human health. Drinking enough water to replace whatever is lost through bodily functions is important. But surveys indicate that most of us might not be drinking enough. Is bottled water part of the answer?

Fish Story: The Coming of Biotech Animals
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Research suggests that genetic modification of animals may have promising applications in food and drug production. FDA is prepared to evaluate the safety of these high-tech products. Potatoes with built-in insecticide. Rice with extra vitamin A.

Adding Soy Protein to the Diet
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
For consumers interested in increasing soy protein consumption to help reduce their risk of heart disease, health experts say they need not completely eliminate animal-based products such as meat, poultry, and dairy foods to reap soy's benefits.

Are Consumers Warming Up to Soy?
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Although it's clear that Americans are increasing their consumption of soy products, the soybean has a long way to go before it becomes a staple in the average pantry. According to a 1999 survey by the United Soybean Board, two-thirds of consumers

Soy Benefits, Soy's Many Faces
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Soy protein products can be good substitutes for animal products because, unlike some other beans, soy offers a complete protein profile. Soybeans contain all the amino acids essential to human nutrition, which must be supplied in the diet because

Soy: Health Claims for Soy Protein
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Vegetarians and health enthusiasts have known for years that foods rich in soy protein offer a good alternative to meat, poultry, and other animal-based products. As consumers have pursued healthier lifestyles in recent years, consumption of soy foods has

Sugar Substitutes: Other Sweetener Choices
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Acesulfame Potassium: First approved in 1988 as a tabletop sweetener, acesulfame potassium, also called Sunett, is now approved for products such as baked goods, frozen desserts, candies, and, most recently, beverages.

Sugar Substitutes: The Aspartame Controversy
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
While questions about saccharin may persist, the safety of another artificial sweetener, aspartame, is clear cut, say FDA officials. FDA calls aspartame, sold under trade names such as NutraSweet and Equal, one of the most thoroughly tested and studied

Sugar Substitutes: More Than a Century of Use
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The granddaddy of all sugar substitutes is saccharin. Discovered in 1879, it was used during both world wars to sweeten foods, helping to compensate for sugar shortages and rationing. It is 300 times sweeter than sugar.