diet

Eatonomics: Government Recommended Food Portions

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The USDA Food Guidance System myplate.gov offers comprehensive and individualized diet  suggestions based on age, sex, height, weight and activity level. Myplate.gov works to integrate the five food groups of vegetables, fruits, grains, protein and dairy into everyday diets. “Make half of your plate fruits and vegetables,” “Make half of your grains whole grains” and “Vary your protein routine” are just a few of the recommendations to keep in mind when loading up your plate. Notably, myplate.gov encourages a movement towards healthier and balanced eating that is not about haves and have nots, but rather about the overall, general composition of what is eaten. The website also dives into greater detail regarding the health benefits of each food group, serving sizes, and general nutrition facts. 

Columns

SMITH | I Don’t Want to Hear About Your (Keto) Diet

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Content Warning: Discussion of dieting and restriction

As a senior in nutritional sciences, simply stating my major usually results in some comment from somebody about their diet, be it defensive or inquisitive. I’m usually unbothered by these encounters, and I view eating as a deeply personal activity, since people’s eating habits can be driven by complex factors. However, there is one topic that comes up so often that I feel it’s necessary to make my opinion abundantly clear: You probably should not try the keto diet. Even for people not specializing in nutrition, I don’t think anyone will fight me when I say that protein is the golden child of nutrition. Compared to its macronutrient siblings (carbs and fat), protein can essentially do no wrong.

Dining

A Foodie’s Trip to the Doctor

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What do your teeth, brain, mood and gut all have in common? Unsurprisingly, it turns out one answer is almost everything. They are, after all, interconnected and essential aspects of your body and life. The other, often overlooked answer, however, is food. The COVID pandemic put into perspective how little control we have over certain parts of our health, but quarantine was sobering, proving we don’t have to be “an inert chunk of randomly assembled molecules drifting wherever the universe blows” us.  In fact, the decisions we make about our food give us resounding leverage over our health.

Science

A Gutsy Endeavor: Understanding Metabolites of the Humans’ “Hidden Organ”

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Trillions of microbes inhabit the human digestive system, constituting such a critical part of our health that many researchers have taken to calling the vast, microscopic population the “hidden organ.” But despite weighing as much as five pounds and collectively containing 200 times the number of genes as the human genome, scientists still aren’t sure how these gut microbes — which include bacteria, fungi and viruses — affect human health.